Carles Puyol took the saying 'let them know you're there early doors' to new heights when he put in a crunching tackle on Phil Neville during a six-a-side tournament.
The former Barcelona centre-back, who spent 19 trophy-laden years at the Catalan club, was representing Spain in the inaugural 'Star Sixes' tournament in London when the incident occured.
Spain went on beat England 4-1 as former Liverpool winger Luis Garcia netted a brace at the O2 Arena, but it was this brutal challenge from Puyol that grabbed the headlines.
After the full-time whistle, Neville spoke about the challenge in an interview with Sky Sports.
“It’s the worst tackle I’ve ever seen on a football field,” he said. “I hope UEFA, FIFA and the FA all have a look at this.
Advert
“The thing that upset me more than anything was the referee said he got the ball. Honestly, it was a horrendous tackle.”
Neville also confirmed that the former Barcelona and Spain captain was "very apologetic" after the full-time whistle.
In fact, after the game, Puyol apologised on Twitter after footage was posted online. “Sorry man!! I hope your knee is fine," the Spaniard said. "I didn’t mean to do it.”
Puyol's teammate, Gaizka Mendieta, reacted to the tackle by saying, "Friendly, who said it was friendly? That's my Puyi!! Come on team!!"
Puyol is renowned for putting his body on the line. Back in 2020, the World Cup winner was photographed after he ran through glass to get a tennis ball back.
The 44-year-old was playing a match of tennis with a friend when he showed how much of an 'absolute competitor' he was.
The picture showed the retired footballer using a towel to clean up the blood covering his left leg and left arm.
Topics: Carles Puyol, Barcelona, Spain, Phil Neville
Jack Kenmare