10 relatively unknown facts about Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol is one of the greatest defenders to have graced the beautiful game. The Barcelona legend has won several honours during his long career that spanned nearly 16 years. He was a one-club man and an inspiration to his teammates.
The players has won several titles with Barcelona. He has in his trophy cabinet 6 La Liga titles, 3 Champions Leagues, and 2 FIFA Club World Cups. He also won the FIFA World Cup with Spain as well as the Euros.
Here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know about him
10) He paid for his friend’s medical treatment
Puyol has always been a gentle giant and he has been a brilliant character on and off the field. His professionalism is admired by many but he also a very caring and giving person. In 2011, his teammate Eric Abidal was diagnosed with cancer that got a lot of media attention.
But there was something that troubled him even more. One of his closest friends who was also a footballer for a small club whose name was Miki Roque was diagnosed with Pelvic cancer the same year.
Puyol was recovering from a knee injury at the time and paid €30,000 for Roque’s treatment. Tragically though the player passed away in 2012 something that Puyol was hurt by. The defender wore a T-shirt in his name during Barcelona’s UCL final against Manchester United while he was being treated that read ‘Anims Mike’.