On Thursday evening, Gerard Pique unexpectedly announced that he is retiring from football with immediate effect.
The 35-year-old defender, whose position in Barcelona has been damaged since the beginning of the season, uploaded a video in which he said that his last home game will be tonight (Saturday, 10:00 p.m., channel ONE) against Almeria and, as he promised earlier, he will not play for another team after Barcelona.
Pika, who is going through difficult times in the shadow of the farewell from Shakira and after several years in which he dropped in level, will in any case receive a proper farewell with quite a few tributes from his friends today and in the past.
First of all, despite his ability in recent months, Pique is expected to start in Xavi's 11 for the game, hoping to at least temporarily overtake Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league table.
Also, at the end of the game, Barça will hold an emotional farewell ceremony, including a special video that will be shown on the screen in the stadium and will include greetings from players who played alongside him in the Catalan uniform and in the Spanish national team uniform.
The fans will make a huge sign with the inscription "Sempr3" - "Tamid3" in the stands and in addition, Pika will make a farewell lap after the game with his friends by his side.
🎙 Xavi: "Piqué is one of the best centre-backs in the history of football"
💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/XetWezjilh
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 4, 2022
Despite the decline in recent years, Pique is considered one of the greatest stoppers in the history of Barcelona.
He made 615 appearances in the Barcelona uniform, in which he scored 53 goals and added 15 assists.
He won the Spanish Championship 8 times, the King's Cup 7 times and the Champions League 3 times.
He also won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship in 2012 with the Spanish team.
Fika smiles at the final training session for Almeria, photo: Reuters
By the way, the one who obviously did not hide his excitement about Pique's retirement, is Pep Guardiola who brought him back to Barcelona from Manchester United in the summer of 2008 and nurtured him alongside Carles Puyol.
"I wish him the best personally. He was a player for the big games. He never missed one. That's what all the big clubs need: players of this type. He won everything, with Barcelona, the Spanish national team, and yes, it was an honor for me , personally, to be his manager. We spent four amazing years together."
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us
