The soloist who led the best Barcelona

Around Piqué there has always been so much noise that it is often forgotten that he has been one of the best central defenders in the history of Barcelona.

His is a movie life that has justified the raison d'être of social networks and fed the tabloid press, the economic press, even the event and entertainment press and of course the sports press, as a champion footballer of the world the same day he was intimate with Shakira.

He never gave up being a good family man, he always wanted to be a modern businessman — legality before ethics — and he never hid at night, a lover of the casino and also of revelry, capable of having fun like a child together with Riqui Puig to later discuss with the Urban Guard.

The

admits in any case a lot of controversy except when talking about football and the Barça player.

Piqué's career cannot be compared to any of the most famous Camp Nou players.

He never wanted to be a spoiled child of the Masia, he marked distances even with Messi and his departure from the club will have nothing to do with those of Iniesta and Xavi and nor with that of Busquets -perhaps it is similar to that of Guardiola footballer-.

He even had a hard time getting admitted as a captain.

It is not easy to live with Piqué.

Neither in the family, nor in the locker room, nor on the pitch, nor in the boardroom, ready as he is always to negotiate his own and business contracts, without forgetting his status as a

and a Catalanist, as he demonstrated in the referendum on 1 October 2017 when he complied against his wishes for Barça to play their League match against Las Palmas behind closed doors.

In the image, Gerard Piqué, a footballer for Barcelona and the Spanish national team, dressed in the Catalan club's kit when he was a child.

"I have always said that after Barça there would be no other team, and so it will be. This Saturday will be my last game at the Camp Nou", the Barça central defender announced this Thursday afternoon in an emotional video that he posted on their networks.

At 35 years old and after 615 games with the Barça shirt, the central defender assures that the time has come to say goodbye and, therefore, he does not consider playing for any more team after having also lined up with Manchester United (28 games ) and Zaragoza (23).

In the image, Piqué celebrates a goal scored by Samuel Eto'o against Sevilla, during a match at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuan stadium, in 2008.MIGUEL ANGEL MORENATTI (AP)

Despite the fact that he had a contract signed until 2024, Piqué has preferred to leave football after a start to the season in which he has been relegated to substitution and has even received some whistles from the Camp Nou fans.

In the photograph, Gerard Piqué (in the center) disputes a ball against Recreativo de Huelva, at the Colombino stadium, in Huelva, in 2008. Miguel Angel Morenatti (AP)

Piqué will be able to say goodbye to the fans during the match that Barça will play on Saturday against Almería at the Camp Nou.

The player always announced that he would be the one to make the decision to retire before the circumstances did.

In the image, the Barça defender (in the foreground) celebrates a goal with Bojan, during a Copa del Rey match, at the Camp Nou, in 2009. Vicens Giménez

Pique waters his teammate Messi with cava at the end of a League match between Barcelona and Osasuna, to celebrate the double victory of the Copa del Rey and the League, in 2009.Vicens Giménez

Piqué, who was part of the Barça youth team in 1987 along with Cesc and Leo Messi, left Barça to play for Manchester United in 2004. In the image, Messi, Iniesta, Piqué, Valdés and Xavi, in 2009.Miguel Ruiz / FC Barcelona

Gerard Piqué heads a ball against the opposition of César Navas (in the center) and Lasha Salukvadze (on the left), both from Rubin Kazan, in a shot from the Champions League match between the two teams at the Camp Nou, in 2009.David Ramos (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The Barça defender, during a training session in 2010.Enric Fontcuberta

Moment of Gerard Piqué's head injury during the match between Barça and Hércules, in 2010. Vicens Giménez

Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas (on the left) clears the ball with his fists in the face of Piqué's harassment, in a 2011 Clásico. Vicens Giménez

Piqué and Chiellini fight for a ball during the match between Spain and Italy (1-1), in the premiere of the Spanish team at Euro 2012, at the Arena Gdansk stadium in Poland.Alejandro Ruesga

Barça coach Josep Guardiola (left) gives instructions to Piqué during a La Liga match in 2011. Manuel Queimadelos Alonso (Getty Images)

Gerard Piqué (on the left) greets the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, of Real Madrid, after the first leg of the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, in 2013.Juan Carlos Hidalgo (EFE)

Karim Benzema (in the center) controls the ball in the presence of Sergio Busquets (on the left) and Gerard Piqué, during the qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil between the France and Spain teams, played at the Saint Denis stadium , near Paris, in 2013. CHRISTOPHE KARABA (EFE)

Piqué, during a match against Atlético de Madrid, in 2011. Vicens Giménez

From left to right, Llorente, Busquets, Xavi, Piqué, Pedrito, and Fernando Torres, players of the Spanish football team that won Euro 2012, celebrate with the fans in Cibeles the achievement of the second consecutive European trophy, after winning 2008.Gorka Lejarcegi

Piqué takes control of the ball during a league match against Real Sociedad, in 2014. Vicens Giménez

Gerard Piqué, on the bench, during a match against Valencia, in 2014. Manuel Queimadelos Alonso (Getty Images)

Gerard Piqué and his wife, Colombian singer Shakira, pose with the Copa del Rey trophy in 2015. JOSEP LAGO (AFP)

Gerard Piqué poses for an interview with EL PAÍS at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper in Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona), in 2015. Vicens Giménez

Piqué celebrates his third goal against Espanyol, in 2016. Vicens Giménez

Piqué, lying on the grass, after a play during a match against Valencia, in 2016. ALBERT GEA (REUTERS)

The national coach Vicente Bosque (on the left) talks with defender Gerard Piqué during training on the Ile de Ré (France), the team's meeting place for its participation in Euro 2016. Kai Försterling (EFE)

Piqué celebrates the 2015-2016 League title with fans in the streets of Barcelona.Albert Garcia

Ansi Agolli (right) and Gerard Piqué hold each other during the Albania-Spain Group G qualifying match for the World Cup in Russia at the Loro Borici stadium in Shkoder, Albania, in 2016. Hektor Pustina (AP )

Piqué laments during the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals between Barcelona and Juventus in 2017. Alberto Estévez (EFE)

Gerard Piqué controls the ball in the Spain-Albania (3-0), match of the 2018 World Cup qualifying phase, at the Rico Pérez stadium in Alicante, in 2017.José Jordán (AFP)

Cristiano scores against Piqué and Iniesta in the Barcelona-Real Madrid (2-2), in a League match, at the Camp Nou, in 2018. SErgio Pérez (REUTERS)

Piqué celebrates with Arturo Vidal after scoring a goal in the Barcelona-Rayo Vallecano match, at the Camp Nou, in 2019. ALBERT GEA (REUTERS)

Coach Quique Setién gives instructions to his players, including Gerard Piqué (sitting in a fridge), during one of the hydration breaks at Celta-Barcelona, ​​in 2020. AFP

Gerard Piqué's injury at Atlético-Barcelona, ​​at the Wanda Metropolitano, in 2020. Bernat Armangue (AP)

Piqué celebrates his goal against Valencia in a League match, in 2019. PAU BARRENA (AFP)

"Without Gerard we would have dropped the invention", Tito Vilanova recalled when the spotlights of success were focused on the most awarded players of Guardiola's Barça.

Piqué has formed the best pair of defenders with Puyol, when the team got together in the dividing line and pressed on the opposite court, to later govern the Barça area while the rival was crossed by Messi.

Piqué was an excellent team player when there was a team and he became a great soloist when individualities prevailed over the team both in the Spanish team and at the Camp Nou.

The awards do not guarantee him but a resume that does not admit stains such as being a substitute and going out by force in halftime games like the one in Pilsen.

It's not about helping but respecting and Piqué does not want to submit to the judgment of the fans or his whistle after verifying that the injuries have taken their toll and he can no longer discuss the role in the work that Xavi reserved for him.

He never wanted to be a substitute and will never act as a complement player who exposes himself to the anger of those who idolized him or to the criticism of the press that exalted him and argued when he felt like the king of the mambo, also with Spain.

More information

Piqué announces by surprise his goodbye to football

Nor is he willing to sue for his life, or for his tastes or enter into commercial conflicts, and even less so if he maintains his expectations of being the future president of Barcelona.

Piqué was always a forward, he anticipated on the field and in the play, master of

in a club that is used to acting precisely at the wrong time, habitually prey to nostalgia, pending today from Xavi and Laporta.

Now he has known how to find the right moment to get out of the way without being an emotional slave of the past and open perspectives for the future, just when the rumor mill began to erode his figure without distinguishing the character of the player, the footballer who atoned on the pitch for the fouls he committed. they reproached him outside, chased through the streets of Barcelona.

Piqué always liked to play with people and surprise the audience, as has been proven by his announcement of saying goodbye on Saturday at the Camp Nou.

The impact of the news has put an end to open speculation for a long time about his salary, his contract, his lawsuits, his disagreements and the arsenal predisposed to a foreseeable lynching that did not correspond to his football history or the charisma gained at Barça .

Piqué decided that he was leaving as soon as he realized that he was no longer enough to lace up his boots at Mestalla.

That image does not fit with that of the winning, imperial, charismatic and cool footballer that he has been his whole life.

He was never easy to bear, and yet, without his greatness and footballing personality, Barça would hardly have reached the top, as Tito predicted.

Smart more than smart,

_

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