'They need to be ready': Puyol hints this might be the last season for 2 Barca players

"Pique and Alba need to stay fit throughout the season. I'm convinced that they will end up being important. But even then, they need to be ready for whatever happens," Carles Puyol has told Cadena SER.

"In my last season, I wanted to play, but I understood that Bartra needed minutes too," he added.

Both Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba seem to be out-of-favour players for Xavi this season. It is indeed possible that they will be forced to leave or retire at the end of the campaign.

Pique is 35, Alba 33. Puyol retired when he was 36.