Piqué’s giant billboard in Madrid reignites his old war with Arbeloa

Gerard Piqué is determined to push the Kings League back into the spotlight—and giving it the kind of high-profile promotion that will get it noticed.

He’s doing it the way he knows best - by reigniting his long‑running feud with Real Madrid. His latest stunt echoes the famous defiant banner Barcelona president Joan Laporta hung in Madrid back in 2020 that read, “Looking forward to seeing you again.”

This time, Piqué has plastered a massive billboard right in the middle of Madrid’s Gran Vía with a cheeky slogan: “We’re not that well‑known... but we will be".

The pun isn’t accidental—it’s a direct callback to one of the most iconic jabs in his rivalry with Álvaro Arbeloa.

A feud born during El Clásico’s most hostile era

The tension between Arbeloa and Piqué goes way back. Their rivalry took shape during the most explosive years of the Guardiola‑vs‑Mourinho era (2010–2013), when El Clásico matchups reached levels of hostility rarely seen in modern soccer. Both players became outspoken symbols of their respective sides.

In 2015, Arbeloa quipped that he expected to see Piqué “doing stand‑up comedy about Real Madrid someday.” Piqué fired back with a line that instantly went viral and permanently fractured their relationship:“Arbeloa told me he was a friend, but he’s just an acquaintance… a cono‑cido.”

The wordplay referenced “cono‚” a mocking nickname some fans used to ridicule Arbeloa’s wooden style when on the ball. From that moment on, the relationship was beyond repair.

Piqué keeps the jabs coming

Piqué has never missed a chance to take a shot at his old rival. The most recent example came this January. After Real Madrid lost 3–2 to Albacete in Arbeloa’s debut as first‑team coach, Piqué dropped a sarcastic message in a Kings League group chat: “Great debut: 3–2.”

Even Iker Casillas—Piqué’s partner in the Kings League project and someone who had already seen the billboard design—was stunned by the slogan. All he could say was: “You really gotta be…”

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