Carles Puyol is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time, having played an instrumental role in Barcelona and Spain’s golden periods in the 2000s and 2010s, guiding them to numerous major honours.
A six-time UEFA Team of the Year nominee, Puyol won six La Liga titles during his time at the Nou Camp, as well as three Champions League trophies, two Spanish Cups and a host of other domestic and international honours.
At international level, he anchored Spain’s defence to consecutive major tournament triumphs, helping La Roja win Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, where he started every match and scored a decisive goal in the semi-final against Germany.
While he named the likes of Arjen Robben and Sergio Aguero among the most challenging opponents he ever faced, Puyol was recently asked to pick the toughest competitor out of three former Premier League superstars: Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney.
Carles Puyol Hails Henry and Drogba
Thierry Henry - FC Barcelona
Heart of Midlothian v FC Barcelona - Pre Season Friendly - Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh - 07/08 , 28/7/07 Thierry Henry - FC Barcelona warms up Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Keith Williams
Puyol, speaking to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, was asked to pick the toughest opponent from Henry, Drogba and Rooney, and ingled out the first two, praising Henry for his performance in the 2006 Champions League final:
“Henry and Drogba. Henry in the final in 2006 was amazing, and Drogba, many times, fighting.”
Henry and Puyol faced each other for the first time during the victorious 2006 final for Barcelona, with the Catalans sealing a 2-1 win after goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti.
The two footballing icons also met at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when France beat Spain 3-1 in the Round of 16, with goals from Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane securing the victory for Les Bleus.
A year later, Henry became Puyol’s teammate at Barcelona, joining the Catalans for a reported fee of £16m, following eight years at Arsenal, where he scored a club-record 228 goals.
Henry spent three seasons playing alongside Puyol at the Nou Camp, helping Barcelona to an unprecedented sextuple in 2009, during which the Catalans won six trophies, including a historic treble.
The Frenchman made a total of 121 appearances during his time with the Catalans, scoring 49 goals and providing 27 assists, before departing for New York Red Bulls in July 2010.
Puyol faced Drogba nine times at club and international level, including five Champions League seasons while the Ivorian was at Chelsea.
Puyol emerged victorious in only the first three meetings with Drogba, with their last encounter coming in the 2011/12 Champions League semi-final, which Chelsea won 3-2 on aggregate.
That year, Chelsea won the Champions League for the first time in their history, with Drogba scoring a decisive goal in the final against Bayern Munich that took the game to extra time and then penalties, where he netted the winning kick.