The defender says he and his Barcelona team-mates have been quick to poke fun at their new team-mate in training as he prepares to make his debut for the club
Barcelona star Gerard Pique has revealed how he jokingly warned Luis Suarez not to bite him after dispossessing the club's summer signing in training this week.
Suarez arrived at Camp Nou from Liverpool in a €95 million over the summer but is yet to make his competitive debut for the club after serving a four-month ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.
However, that suspension comes to an end on Saturday, meaning he is eligible to play in Barcelona’s Clasico encounter with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 27-year-old has made a big impression on his new team-mates in training, but Pique says that has not stopped him being at the centre of several jokes at his expense over his indiscipline over the summer.
Pique told ESPNFC: “When we are jockeying for the ball, for example today in a training drill when I had to defend a cross and he had to attack it, I'll give it: "Hey! Don't bite me!" He just smiles. Luis knows it's not right to bite in a football match.
“It's happened, he apologised, he has to accept it and move on. In training he's so competitive, though. He gets a kick and he won't go down. Never. He just continues trying to score even if you kick him or pull his shirt.”
The former Manchester United centre-back also dismissed the suggestion any of the squad were concerned the arrival of Suarez could disrupt dressing room harmony.
He added: “When he arrived, he'd not trained and wasn't playing -- he was "dead" after 10 minutes of training and I'd be like, "What's happened to you, man?!" But after two or three weeks he was fit and now he's really in shape. He showed that with his goals against Oman.
“In training he's unbelievable. Luis has this thing ... let me put it like this: there'll be two or three rebounds off players when he dribbles in the box and suddenly the ball is still at his feet and he scores. He creates goals from absolutely nothing.
“This is a different style of player from what we have here. Guys like [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi are really sweet on the ball. You enjoy watching them. With Luis it's the opposite style -- he's fighting, he's working, but finally he scores the goal. Always.
Source: Goal.com
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