Gerard Pique reportedly told Matthijs de Ligt on holiday not to move to Barcelona in 2019 as he would not get any minutes, which influenced the Dutch defender to pick Juventus.
De Ligt left Ajax for £63million in the summer of 2019, after guiding the Dutch giants to the Champions League semi-final, and moved to Turin where he is closing in on 100 appearances after nearly three years in the Italian city.
The 22-year-old is finally enjoying a good run in the side under Masimiliano Allegri after failing to usurp the experienced duo of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini under previous bosses, but his story could have been so different.
According to Spanish news outlet SPORT, Barcelona centre-back Pique met De Ligt on holiday in the Caribbean in 2019 when the Dutchman was choosing which club to join - and told him to snub the Catalans.
The report adds Pique told Di Ligt that he would not get any minutes at Barcelona. The young defender is known as a right centre-back, which is the role Pique currently occupies at the Camp Nou.
Pique and Clement Lenglet were the first-choice centre-back at Barcelona at the time but De Ligt was reportedly keen to challenge the Catalan duo for a starting spot.
Shortly after moving to the Old Lady, De Ligt confirmed that PSG were also in the running for him that summer - along with Barcelona and Juventus - but he felt the Serie A giants would help him become a complete footballer.
De Ligt told Ziggo Sport: 'I had offers last summer from Juventus, PSG and Barcelona, so I studied the various options and at the end of the day concluded I could grow faster at Juve.
'They have a particular style and I knew being here would make me a more complete player.'
Despite finally getting some minutes at Juventus this season, De Ligt's representative - super-agent Mino Raiola - admitted before the January transfer window that the Dutch defender is looking for a new challenge.
'(De Ligt) is ready for a new step… he thinks that too,' he told Dutch newspaper NRC in December.