The Espanyol response to Piqué: “They bark, sign that we ride”
Luis García reacted to the Barcelona player’s jibes on TV on Thursday night where he boasted of having more money than Espanyol.
“I’ve got more money than Espanyol’s budget this year” joked Gerard Piqué in an interview on late night TV on Thursday, one of several comments that have seen Barcelona’s city rivals’ fans up in arms (despite, it should be said, what appeared to be the very tongue in cheek nature of Pique’s appearance).
Response to Piqué's jibes
Espanyol legend Luis García responded to Piqué on social media, with a reply that’s been widely applauded by the Espanyol fans. “They bark, sign that we ride*. Prouder every day!!!” said the former Espanyol player, alongside a photo of the Cornellà-El Prat full for a derby against Barça, with a banner visible proclaiming “You can never buy this feeling”.
Piqué's comments a "sad day for sport"
Ander Mirambell, former Olympic skeleton athlete and Espanyol fan said on Twitter: “Today is a sad day for sport. Many of us work to promote the values of our sport both within and outside playing sport. We try to transmit to the coming generation what SPORT means… others try to be the centre of attention laughing at others”, he said.
* The phrase used by Luis García in Spanish is “Ladran, luego cabalgamos”, often mis-attributed to Cervantes in Don Quixote as “Ladran, Sancho, luego cabalgamos”. The phrase is in fact from Goethe’s 1808 poem “Kläffer” (Barker), and is often translated as “But their strident barking / is only a sign that we ride”. The phrase is generally understood to mean that an attack by one’s enemies is a sign you are doing the right thing.