"?Former Spain and Barcelona captain Carlos Puyol may have an allegiance to the side he was at for 18 years, but he has now revealed that he hopes Italian giants AC Milan return to their winning ways, claiming they are his second favourite team.
Speaking at the 'Golden Foot Awards', "?Squawka have quoted him as saying "First Barcelona, as you like it or not. But I've always said, that Milan is the second team that I liked. I have always said publicly. It was a great club, although it is not now going through a good moment."
Puyol has enjoyed many great matches against Milan over the years in the Champions League. The last clash between the European giants saw Barcelona prevail in a 3-1 win back in 2013.
Since then, Milan have faced a tough time, slipping in the Italian league, falling out of the Champions League position, as well as losing ground on rivals Juventus.
Though they are one of the most successful clubs in both Europe and Italy, they have fallen on tough times in recent years. They finished seventh in the league last season, 34 points below Juventus who retained their title for the fifth year in a row.
Finishing eighth, tenth and seventh over the last few years has seen friction grow between loyal fans and the club, as they hope to see them back to their winning ways.
The fallen giants currently sit sixth in Serie A, winning 4 of their first 7 matches, with their last win coming in their clash with Sassuolo which finished 4-3.
Franco Baresi & Paolo Maldini played 196 matches together at AC Milan and conceded just 29 goals.
Class... pic.twitter.com/GUVKQbmyBg