Catalan star denounced as traitor for claiming to be Spanish

BARCELONA legend and former club captain Carles Puyol has landed himself in hot water with segments of the Catalan support after emphasising that he is Spanish on a Chinese television advert,as identity politics continue to play an ever increasing role in Spanish society.

“I’m the ex-captain of Barcelona FC. I’ve won six leagues, three Champions Leagues, a World Cup and a European Cup. I am Carles Puyol and I am Spanish.” the retired player said while promoting Spanish football in China.

The emphatic declaration of Spanish identity by a natural-born Catalan, who captained Catalonia’s favourite export for a decade, has jarred with nationalist minded supporters, many of whom have denounced the tenacious right back as a ‘traitor’, ‘deserter’ and ‘sell-out’, igniting an argument that has seen others leap to his defence.  

Puyol was capped more a 100 times for the Spanish national side and was a key element in their 2010 World Cup glory in a side that was heavily dependent on Barcelona and Catalonian talent, but since then the movement for independence has grown, while Madrid has stubbornly refused to entertain even the notion of a referendum.

The result seems to be inflamed tensions on a local and keyboard warrior level with the Puyol controversy merely the latest in a long line of incidents pitting Catalonian against Spanish, including two female promoters of the national team allegedly being denounced as ‘Spanish whores’ and assaulted in Barcelona during Euro 2016.  

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