Days after the issue of leaks about secret talks with the president of the Spanish Football Association, Luis Rubiales, the name of Barcelona defender Gerard Pique came out again, this time associated with a reaction and a surprising message from his colleagues in the Catalan club.
A report by Mundo Deportivo reported new information about Pique's negotiations to extend his contract with Barcelona in 2020, coinciding with the decline in the teams' incomes due to the outbreak of the Corona virus, and the Barcelona administration at the time resorted to asking the players to reduce their salaries in order to ensure the club's financial balances.
In that period, Pique reached an agreement with then-team boss Josep Maria Bartomeu to extend his contract until 2024, with a salary reduction and a postponement of receiving his dues for a longer period than previously planned.
This came at a time when the Catalan club's players refused the administration's request to cut their salaries in half, and the announcement of the agreement with Pique came as a surprise to them.
The report stated that Pique found, the day after the announcement of his agreement with the administration, the word "traitor" written on the board in the dressing room, which coaches usually use to explain their instructions to the players.
The report indicated that Pique's relationship with his colleagues was not at its best, although he is considered among the leaders of the Barcelona team since 2018, he obtained that position due to seniority, and it was not the result of a vote and agreement between the players.
According to the report of the Spanish newspaper, one of the most prominent differences between Pique and his colleagues in Barcelona was his dispute with the former star of the club, Lionel Messi, and confirmed that the players had cut the lines of communication between them, and that they had not spoken since the Argentine star left the Catalan club to Paris Saint-Germain.
Pique was accused of receiving a commission after negotiating with the president of the Spanish Football Federation to transfer the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia. The Barcelona defender responded to these accusations, saying that everything that happened was legal and provided additional income to the Spanish Federation and a number of clubs that benefited from the tournament.