"If I were him I would not go to the same team as Mbappé" - Gerard Pique believes Erling Haaland should play for different team if he wants Ballon d'Or glory

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has advised Erling Haaland not to join the same club Kylian Mbappe will sign for in the summer. The Borussia Dortmund ace has been linked with a host of clubs, particularly Real Madrid. That's also where his PSG counterpart Kylian Mbappe could end up, with the Frenchman widely touted to move to the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer.

Los Blancos are aiming to pull off an incredible double swoop for these talented youngsters but Pique feels Haaland shouldn't play in the same team as Mbappe. Both are heavy favorites to win the Ballon d'Or in the future. However, if the Norwegian were to keep his chances, he'd be best served playing away from Mbappe, according to Pique.

Speaking to Ibai Lanos on a live show, the Spaniard said:

"If I were Haaland and I want to win the Ballon d'Or, I would not go to the same team as Mbappé."

It was an indirect recommendation to Haaland that he shouldn't join Real Madrid, hinting towards joining the Catalans instead.

Pique's own side have been linked with the 21-year-old lately. Barcelona are supposedly ready to sell 49 per cent of the stake in their production company Barca Studios to raise €100 million for his transfer.

However, given their financial troubles, it's too big of a risk, with the side currently struggling to reduce their wage bill by offloading players.

Their El Clasico rivals hope to take advantage of their situation and plot a Haaland-Mbappe mega-deal in the summer.

The players have been touted to form the next player rivalry once Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi retire. It isn't too long from now as the 'big two' are well into their 30s.

Haaland isn't the first player Pique has given advice to

The Barcelona veteran revealed that he'd also recommended Vinicius Junior to come to Barcelona instead of joining Real Madrid.

The Brazilian, pretty much like Neymar, was courted by the El Clasico sides but unlike his international team-mate, chose Santiago Bernabeu as his destination.

He was signed for €45 million from Brazilian side Flamengo, which was a record for an 18-year-old.

The winger didn't hit the ground running and struggled to hit peak form for two years. But Vinicius has been on fire this season with 15 goals and 10 assists in 30 games in all competitions. He is currently joint-second in the La Liga goalscoring charts with 12 goals, behind current leader and strike partner Karim Benzema.