Manchester United news: Gerard Pique jokes that players were 'b*******' to him at Old Trafford

The Barcelona and Spain defender struggled to break into the first team under Sir Alex Ferguson

Pique spent four years in Manchester between 2004 and 2008 (Getty)

Gerard Pique has joked that there were a lot of ‘b*******’ at Manchester United during his time with the club as a youth player.

The 29-year-old defender, who is currently on international duty with Spain at the European Championships, spent four years at Old Trafford during the early part of his career but struggled to break into the first-team and made just 23 senior appearances.

Pique returned to boyhood club Barcelona in 2008 and has since won 16 major club honours, including three Champions League titles, as well as the World Cup and European Championships with his national side.

“When I was seventeen, eighteen years old and tried to make the jump to the first team at Manchester United, it was much more difficult,” he told Onda Cero, the Spanish radio station, when speaking about the integration of young players into Spain’s Euro 2016 squad.

The radio show’s presenter Hector Fernandez then playfully asked “Muy cabrones?”, which translates as ‘too many b*******?’, and a laughing Pique agreed, repeating “Muy cabrones!”

“Now you make a little joke and it seems to be a crime,” Pique added. “I remember when Gerard Deulofeu went to the first team, and he was going to sit at a dinner, I removed the chair, he fell and I got a scolding. They did it to us everyday!”

Pique’s time at United coincided with that of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Real Madrid forward who he enjoys a competitive relationship with in Spain.

Last year, following Barcelona’s Champions League triumph, Pique teased his rival by dedicating the win to a singer who had performed at Ronaldo’s 30th birthday party just hours after Real suffered defeat to neighbours Atletico Madrid.