Gerard Pique, a Spanish professional football player, a defense center in Barcelona and the Spanish national team, won a number of titles and awards during his career. He was born on February 2, 1987, and retired from football on November 5, 2022, after a career full of achievements. .
Birth and upbringing
Gerard Pique Bernabeu was born into a very wealthy Catalan Christian Catholic family, his father, Joan, a successful business manager and lawyer, his mother, Montserrat, director of the Spinal Injury Hospital in Barcelona, his maternal grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, a former vice president of Barcelona, and his brother Marc Pique, born in 1992.
He has been in a relationship with the Colombian singer Shakira - who is 10 years older than him - since the beginning of 2011. January 2015.
Pique separated from Shakira in June 2022, and then in August 2022, Clara Chia Marti, a student who works with him in his office to organize events and events for his company, Kosmos.
Study and scientific training
Gerard Pique studied at La Salle Bonanova, a prestigious coordinating school.
After completing his secondary education, he started his career studying business administration, but he had to give it up because of football and returned to it after that.
He received an MBA degree at Harvard University, titled "Entertainment, Media and Sports Business: 2017".
sports experience
He joined FC Barcelona Academy in 1997, at the age of 10, he joined the club's youngest boys team (Alevín B), and was among the main defenders of the team.
He played with the academy for several years during which he passed through various levels and categories (Alevín A, Infantil B, A, Cadete B, A, Juvenil B and A).
During his stay in the academy, extending from 1997 until the end of the 2003-2004 season, Pique developed into a skilled player, and showed a great ability to adapt to different positions on the field, and was known for his ability to score goals despite his defensive position.
Pique left Barcelona at the end of the 2003-2004 season, and joined the English club Manchester United, and won the domestic league title and the European Champions League in 2008.
Gerard Pique first appeared with Manchester United in October 2004 as a substitute for John O'Shea, and played a central defense in the Carling Cup match against Crewe Alexandra, which his team won.
In March 2006, he made his debut with the team in the English Premier League match against West Ham United at Old Trafford, where he played as a right-back, and was a substitute for the injured Gary Neville.
Manchester United loaned him to Real Zaragoza in the Spanish League for the 2006-2007 season, and then had the opportunity to play 22 matches alongside Argentine Gabriel Milito, however, he also spent a lot of his time on the bench.
Gerard Pique returned to Manchester United in the football season 2007-2008 and spent a successful season in the Champions League, he scored the first of Manchester United's four goals in a 4-0 win at home against Dynamo Kyiv on the seventh of November 2007, and scored his second goal In an away match against Roma on 12 December 2007.
On May 27, 2008, Pique returned to Barcelona, and signed a 4-year contract, with a full purchase condition of 5 million euros, and played with the Spanish national team in the period between 2009 and 2018, and won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Nations Cup in 2012. Then he retired from international football after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Gerard Pique won several titles with his team Barcelona and with the Spanish national team (French)
Experience in the business world
Pique is a successful businessman. Together with Hiroshi Mikitani, owner of Rakuten, he founded Kosmos in 2017. One of the company's most important projects is managing the Davis Cup and esports tournaments.
He also participated in various investments in different sectors such as agriculture and fashion.
Pique's companies acquired the shares of Andorra club, which succeeded in ascending to the Spanish third division, and his sports investments did not stop there, but included a company to develop the Davis Cup tennis tournament.
Awards
Pique has won several awards during his football career, including:
The best player in the Spanish League 2008-2009 season.
The best defender in the Spanish League 2009-2010 season.
FIFPro Award for the best 11 footballers in the world 4 times in the years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016.
Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Merit in 2011.
FIFPro Award for the best 11 players in the world second team 3 times in the years: 2013, 2015, 2017.
FIFPro Award for Best 11 Players in the World Third Team Twice in the years: 2014, 2018.
2019 FIFPro Award nominee (9th Defender).
The best football player in Catalonia in 2019.
Globe Soccer Awards 2020.
Gerard Pique celebrates one of his goals in January 2009 (French)
Achievements with sports clubs
Gerard Pique won 37 sports titles with the clubs he played for, divided as follows:
First title with the under-19 team:
European Championship 2006.
30 titles with Barcelona:
8 titles in the Spanish League.
7 titles in the King's Cup.
6 titles in the Spanish Super Cup.
3 UEFA Champions League titles (2009, 2011, 2015).
3 European Super Cup titles.
3 times in the Club World Cup.
4 titles with Manchester United:
Premier League.
League Cup.
Community Shield.
2008 UEFA Champions League.
Gerard Pique during his participation in Euro 2016 (French)
He also won two titles with the Spanish national team:
2010 World Cup.
European Championship 2012.
retirement
Gerard Pique announced his retirement from football on Thursday, November 3, 2022, through a video he posted on his Twitter account, at the age of 35, to play his last match on Saturday, November 5, 2022, which cancels his contract until June. June 2023, starting from the days following retirement.
Followers believe that Pique's retirement is due to the decline in his performance and technical level in the 2021-2022 football seasons, and his physical suffering, as he began to show age, in addition to his many injuries, which prompted coach Xavi to put Pique in the team's secondary options.