"Football gave me everything, Barcelona gave me everything, you Catalans also gave me everything. Now that the dreams of that boy have come true, I want to tell you that it is time to end this journey. I have always said that there will be no team after Barcelona."

With these poignant words and in a sad tone, the veteran Spanish defender of Barcelona, ​​Gerard Pique, announced in a video clip he posted on his Twitter page that he retired from playing for good after a journey that lasted with football for nearly 18 years.

And after he plays on Tuesday the 14th round match of the Spanish Football League against Osasuna, the curtain falls on a football career that was a long and exciting journey, in which the world champion with the Spain national team in 2010 knew milestone events, not only in his journey on the green rectangle, but outside the stadiums and in his relations With money, business, women and fellow players, whether in the Blaugrana or in the La Roja team.

Culers, us he de dir una cosa.

pic.twitter.com/k3V919pm1T

— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) November 3, 2022

Pique will retire after the Barcelona and Osasuna match at the latter's stadium, before the Spanish League stopped for several weeks due to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which begins on November 20.

Reasons to retire

In a completely unexpected decision, Pique surprised Barcelona fans and football fans in the world with his sudden decision, saying that "it is time to end his journey with the ball", but he pledged that he would one day return to the Catalan house without revealing the framework that will witness his return.

In fact, Pique's career with football, which began in the famous "La Masia" academy for FC Barcelona in 1996 with a few players who became big stars after years, such as Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol and others, was exciting to the extreme, as the sport overlapped And investments and the business world, in addition to his marriage to the famous Colombian singer, "Shakira", who had a great place in Pique's sporting career.

Pique's exit from coach Xavi Hernandez's accounts was the first motive behind his retirement from football (Reuters)

And the Spanish newspaper, “Marca”, revealed that Pique’s announcement of retirement at this particular time was due to 4 basic factors that were decisive in making a decisive decision. the team.

For his part, Catalan coach Xavi Hernandez said that Pique would leave football, adding that it was difficult for him to tell him that he would not have much time to play, which was decisive in the decision to retire, according to what "Marca" quoted Xavi.

And if Pique was a substitute, Xavi had to rely on him in some important matches, most notably against Inter in the fourth round of the group stage of the Champions League, but he made huge mistakes that increased the discontent of the fans with him.

The whistles of the Barcelona fans against the veteran defender, who appeared strongly in the Villarreal match, pushed him towards the exit door, especially after the Catalan team missed the opportunity to qualify for the final price of the Champions League and went to play in the European League.

Pique's recent physical suffering also affected his decision to retire, as it seems that his advanced age (36 years) had a significant impact on his multiple injuries and heaviness, and hence his decision to withdraw.

Pique accused of leaving Messi

And Pique was subjected to harsh criticism during the last two years, as he was accused of being the first reason for Messi's exit from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.

Spanish reports revealed that Argentine star Lionel Messi was betrayed by his friend Pique and Catalan club president Joan Laporta before announcing his departure from the Spanish giant.

In 2021, the Spanish newspaper, Mundo Deportivo, revealed that Messi accused Pique of treason, and that he was the reason for his departure from Barcelona, ​​in the summer of the same year, despite the special relationship that they had.

According to the Spanish newspapers, Messi learned from inside Barcelona, ​​​​that Pique told Laporta that the issue of financial fair play in which Barcelona was involved will be resolved as soon as Messi leaves.

Pique was completely condemned, and his colleagues criticized him, while the fans attacked him, especially since Messi's departure made the Catalan team up for grabs in the Champions League, with evidence that he only won 4 Champions League matches, two against Dynamo Kyiv. The Ukrainian and the same at the expense of the Czech Viktoria Plzen since the departure of Lionel Messi.

A successful businessman with wholesale titles

Pique played in his first steps in football, with Barcelona, ​​​​since the age of ten, before leaving in 2004 to join Manchester United, with whom he won the domestic league title and the European Champions League in 2008, to return in the same year to FC Barcelona and achieve with him 8 titles in La Liga, 3 Champions League titles (2009, 2011 and 2015), and the King's Cup 7 times.

As for the Spanish national team, he played between 2009 and 2018, and won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 before retiring from international football after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The 2010 World Cup title is Pique's greatest achievement with the La Roja national team (Getty)

In addition to his success in football with Barcelona and even as Manchester United, Pique was a successful businessman, combining football with investments in sectors such as agriculture and fashion.

Pique's companies also acquired the shares of Andorra club, which succeeded in ascending to the Spanish third division, and his sports investments did not stop there, but also included a company to develop the Davis Cup tennis tournament with the increase in the Spanish defender's business, especially after his time for it.

But the success of the player, a businessman, sportingly and professionally, was met with a family failure in recent years, as he announced in June 2022 his separation from the famous singer Shakira, which had profound repercussions on his career with Barcelona, ​​as it was not easy for the player who was accused of betraying His wife and mother of his two sons and dating another woman to be spared those reflections in his performance with the Blaugrana.