Gerard Pique stunned the football world on Thursday night when he announced his retirement from football in the middle of the competitive season. Barcelona v Almería in La Liga (Saturday, 22:00) at Camp Nou will be the last appearance of one of the best defenders in the history of the Blaugrana club.
Pique and resignation: big salary, modest achievements, the scandal with Shakira and the “wind” of FC “Barcelona”
Spanish media outlined the reasons for Pique’s unexpected decision to retire from football “as of today”.
- Turning 35, Gerard it no longer represented a real solution for Xavi, his former Barcelona dream team colleague.
Pique has played sparingly this competitive season and the performance against Inter (which sealed the Catalans’ exit from the Champions League) will remain a blemish on the defender’s fantastic CV. Gerrard made a crucial error against the Italians and his mistakes were joked about on the internet.
- High salary of a football player from the old guard was another shock on Barcelona’s account. The Camp Nou establishment is known to be going through a very tough time financially, with Pique’s annual salary estimated at around €23 million gross, according to Mundo Deportivo.
- Pique’s contract with Barca was supposed to expire in June 2024, but the management of the Camp Nou club wanted to get rid of the legendary football player. Since the weather is unforgiving, Gerard has ceased to be a basic item.
- Barcelona did not protect him in any way Pique after being criticized for his poor performances of late. The management of the Catalans did not react even to the booing of the footballer at Camp Nou in the next match after the farewell match with Inter in the Champions League (3:3).
- On a personal level, things did not work out for Pique either. After that, he occupied the front page of scandalous newspapers parting with the singer Shakira. It was another drop in the already almost full glass.
- Catalan journalists also claim that the footballer has felt it in recent weeks Barcelona would be happy about a possible divorceand this feeling helped him make the decision to retire from football.
Gerard Pique’s career in “Barcelona” in numbers
8 titles in La Liga
3 Champions League
3 European Super Cup
7 Cups of the King of Spain
6 Spanish Super Cups
3 World Club Championships
European champion as part of Spain in 2008, in Austria and Switzerland
World champion as part of Spain in 2010 in South Africa.
Source: Hot News RO
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