The veteran Barcelona defender has confirmed he will hang up his boots finally after Barca’s next La Liga match against Almeria.
Gerard Pique has announced that Saturday’s La Liga match against Almeria will be his last as a professional footballer.
The 35-year-old Spanish center-back confirmed his decision via a 2-minute video he posted on his social media on Thursday, November 3, 2022.
He posted the video with a message that read: « Culers, us he de dir una cosa. » which is Spanish for « I have to tell you one thing. »
The video posted by the defender shows glimpses of his older self watching clips of childhood days as fan of the club before finally joining Barca’s youth team for free, with his voice also being heard in the background of the video as the narrator while also thanking the Barcelona fans and supporters for his time at the club.
Pique has fallen out of favour at the Camp Nou this season, after making just three La Liga starts, and has now decided to call time on his incredible career in the sport.
The Spanish defender, who has enjoyed 14 glittering years with the club having re-joined them in 2008 a key part of a number of great Barcelona teams in addition to having won two European Championships and the World Cup with the Spanish National team.
Why did Gerard Pique retire?
The primary reason behind is decision is not clear as at the time of writing, but reports suggest that the 35-year-old center-back has fallen out of favour with current coach and former teammate Xavi.
Pique could not seal a starting shirt at the Spotify Camp Nou having fallen down the pecking order with the likes of Jules Kounde, Ronaldo Araujo, Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen all ahead of him in the team.
Pique is no doubt the most experienced defender currently at the club but has been often criticized for his performances in recent times for the Catalans.
As a matter of fact, Pique’s struggles for a starting shirt have not gotten any better with the arrivals at the club in the summer, as even Marcos Alonso who is a natural left-back has been utilized in central defense ahead of the veteran.
There have also been rumours of an internal rift between the club and the player himself after he split from his ex -Shakira due to his infidelity, earlier this year.
The club was reportedly unhappy with the negative spotlight the news brought to the team amid their economic struggles and have since been in talks over a possible termination of his contract despite him agreeing to take a salary pay cut initially.
During his time with Barcelona, he has won 8 La Liga titles, 7 Copa de Rey trophies, 6 Supercopa de Espana trophies, 3 UEFA Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Super Cups and 3 FIFA Club World Cups,
He was also voted the best defender in La Liga in the 2009/10 season, and has been voted in La Liga’s team of the season two consecutive seasons (2014/15, 2015/16).
Pique has been voted in the UEFA Team of the year 5 times ( 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016) having made over 100 appearances in the Champions League and has also been voted in the FIFA FIFPro World XI four times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2016).
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