Rustenburg, South Africa  - The new Real Madrid, with superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, does not scare Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.

At the Spain camp in Rustenburg, South Africa, when asked Friday whether he would be more scared of a lion or of the strong Real Madrid side that is being built by new club president Florentino Perez, Pique laughed.

"Of a lion, of course!" he said, in the wake of a morning safari alongside his Spain team-mates.

More seriously, the centre-back said he understood why Real Madrid were going on a huge spending spree, set to include the signing of Ballon d'Or Cristiano Ronaldo for a record 94 million euros (131 million dollars).

"They are signing players because they saw they needed to," Pique said.

The defender, 22, was key for Barcelona to win the Champions League, La Liga and the King's Cup this season, and for the 6-2 Barca win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

"For La Liga it is fantastic to have so many stars next year," he said.

Still, he stressed that Barcelona should not worry after the most successful year in their history.

"If we do not have that calm after a year with a treble, we would be doing badly," Pique noted. "I prefer something that is working to something about which you do not know how it's going to work. I prefer to be on Barca's side. This team guarantees titles, because we have proved it and we have the quality it takes."(dpa)