Barcelona’s last ten years have NOT matched Real Madrid’s history’

Alvaro Arbeloa hit back in the row with Gerard Pique by claiming that Barca have still not caught up with Madrid – but recent history shows there is only one superpower in Spain

EXTRA TIME   By Chris Davie

Even the most ardent Real Madrid fan might feel a bit uneasy with Alvaro Arbeloa’s response in the war of words with Gerard Pique.

The Barcelona defender quickly took to Twitter to mock Madrid as news emerged that they had broken Copa del Rey ruled by fielding the suspended Denis Cheryshev and faced expulsion from the competition.

Little had been said from Madrid’s camp on Pique’s not-so-cryptic Twitter post, but when Arbeloa was asked for his view, the 32-year-old retorted: “I’ll see him in a comedy club talking about Madrid. The last ten years for Barca don’t equal Madrid’s history.”

And while that may be true, Madrid do indeed have more La Liga titles and Champions League (formerly the European Cup) trophies in their cabinet, Barcelona are catching up in an alarming rate.

And in terms of recent history, it’d be difficult to argue that Madrid remain as Spain’s superpower.