Carles Puyol has praised both Gerard Pique and Dmytro Chygrynskiy, calling both Barcelona defenders “great”.

The Barca skipper is honoured to be working with both centre-backs and believes that they will be the team's pillars in defence in the future.

"Chygrynskiy was an acquisition with bolstering the squad depth in mind because of the amount of games [Barca will play this season]," Puyol told Sport.

"He is a great player and he must be given time because he is still adapting. He has a great future ahead of him.

"Pique already knew the club well having played for so long in the youth teams. He is a great player and a good friend.

"We are lucky to have him with us and he is a central defender we can rely on for years to come."

Puyol confirmed that he had once considered leaving the reigning La Liga champions, but believes he made the right decision to extend his stay at the Nou Camp.

"I am very happy at Barca and in Barcelona. Yes, at the beginning of the season I wanted time to decide what to do, but not because I was not at home at the club, but because I was wondering if I wanted another test, outside of Spanish football," he continued.

"In the end I decided to stay and I feel wanted by everyone. The club has treated me very well and I have already said that I think I was 100 per cent correct in my decision."