Gerard Pique Says Lionel Messi Is One of the 'Biggest Trolls' He Knows

Gerard Pique has given an insight into Lionel Messi's sense of humour and revealed his Barcelona team-mate has a mischievous streak behind the scenes.

For a player of his stature, glimpses behind the curtain are relatively rare, and the image we typically get is one of a quiet family man when he's not terrorising defenders on the pitch.

It seems he also enjoys tongue-in-cheek jokes, as Pique told La Resistencia (h/t Goal's Sacha Pisani): "Messi has very ironic humour. He's one of the biggest trolls [I know]."

Pique is no stranger to trolling. Barcelona take on Espanyol in the Catalan derby on Saturday, and the defender took the opportunity to stoke the fire ahead of the clash.

"I have more money than the budget of Espanyol this year," he said. "Nope, not just €57 million. It's plenty more than that."

Even Pique can't match former team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, though, as he revealed in a story about the Swede: "He is the guy who loves money more than anyone else on Earth. He told us one day, 'Money is not the most important thing.' We did not say anything, and then he finished, 'Having a lot of money is the most important thing.'"

It's no surprise Pique feels confident teasing Espanyol, who have beaten Barcelona just once in the past decade.

Barca also have Messi on their side, and the Argentinian has been in excellent form this season:

He and Pique have good chemistry, as they showed in training ahead of the derby:

The Blaugrana are 10 points clear of second-place Atletico Madrid in La Liga with 10 matches remaining, so a win on Saturday would get them a little closer to their fourth title in the past five seasons.