Former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has revealed why he abruptly announced his retirement in November this year and couldn’t stand it until the end of the season.
“The reasons are many and people already know that at the beginning of the season I had a training session with coach Xavi Hernandez who told me that it would be difficult for me to play in the starting XI,” Piqué, 35, said during a commentary reported by the Spanish newspaper Sport “.
He added: “The feeling from the very beginning was not the best in general and I saw that the pause period was an opportunity to make this decision, and I always said that when I am not important, I will leave, and if it is, if in my position there were no injuries, I would have left before November.”
He continued: “I don’t feel the same anymore and I saw that there was no room left for me, but when injuries appeared in the defensive line, I decided to stay until the break for the World Cup.”
He concluded: “What happened during the farewell to the Camp Nou was amazing for me, and I realized how much the fans appreciate me, but this is not a farewell, because I will still be associated with the club.”
On the other hand, the Madrid newspaper Marca quotes Joan Pique and the Montsberg Bernabéu, Gerrard’s parents, confirming that their son decided to retire at this time in order not to “go out the back door”, and that he made this decision in search of peace , which he needed to solve his problems with his partner, former Colombian singer Shakira.
And Piqué ended his career by receiving a red card last Tuesday during Barcelona’s match with host Osasuna, although he did not play, but a report from referee Gil Manzano confirmed that Piqué had uttered obscene words against one of the opponent’s players.
