Football gives us fantastic characters and personalities. Footballers who become world icons and who do not go unnoticed no matter what they do. Gerard Piqué has been one of the best defenders in Spain and in the history of Barça but, above all, he is a special person with a provocative character. Gerard is an enigma full of contradictions: He is a man with the spirit of a child, a defender in the body of a striker, a businessman with sneakers, a proud Catalanist who defended the Spain shirt with blood, and a Barça fa,n, dressed as a footballer. It is a wonderful mix that makes you either love it or hate it, and that allows us to tell the story of a legend.
The Beginnings
Gerard Piqué Bernabéu was born in Barcelona on February 2, 1987. As a child, he grew up in a wealthy family involved in sports. His father Joan was a lawyer and a businessman, and his maternal grandfather was a manager at Barça. Amador Bernabéu made him a member of the club before he was born and was the first to instill culé sentiment in his grandson. At only 15 months old, he was already playing with a ball, and after a bad fall, he remained in a coma for two days. Fortunately for his family, Gerard came to his senses and continued playing football with the dream of playing for Barça. At the age of 10, he entered the youth ranks of the Masía, where he played successfully in all categories. Although he started playing as a forward, he delayed his position until defense and shared a team with a generation full of stars like Cesc Fàbregas or Leo Messi.
Manchester United
Piqué was one of the most promising players in Spain, but when he had to sign a professional contract, he did not feel valued. Manchester United offered him a more generous project, and Gerard headed to England at just 17 years old. Piqué debuted as the Red Devil in OcRed Devil4, although his good performances with the reserve team and the youth teams of the Spanish team did not allow him to make the jump to the first team either. After playing only 10 games in two seasons, Manchester United decided to loan him to a team in the Spanish league, and Zaragoza would be his new destination. In the skilled team, he had an excellent season, where he ended up playing as a defensive midfielder. His good ball delivery and aerial power helped Zaragoza qualify for the Uefa Cup, and after 28 games and 3 goals scored, Gerard returned to England. In his return in the 2007 season-2008 Piqué had more prominence but continued to live in the shadow of the centre-back pairing made up of Ferdinand and Vidic. During that campaign hDuring thats able to participate in 13 games and won the Community Shield, the Premier League, and the Champions League. Piqué played 3 games in the Champions League, where he contributed 2 goals in the first phase of the tournament.
Return to Barcelona
After its first continental success, Barcelona knocked on his door again and paid 5 million euros to return him to the club of his life. Was the guardiol’s first seasona in the culé first team, and although he started as a substitute for Puyol and Marquez, he ended up earning a place in the starting eleven. His great ball delivery and defensive hierarchy combined perfectly with the dedication and drive of Puyol, who would become his best partner in the center of the defense. With the ownership of both, Barcelona had the best season in its history, where it won all the titles playing spectacular football. Piqué sealed the League by scoring the last goal of the 2-6 to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu and kept his former teammate at bay Cristiano Ronaldo in the final in Rome. Barça won the Cup and its third Champions League and would have an unrepeatable 2009 celebrating the Sextuple.
South Africa World Cup 2010
Piqué’s appearance led to his call-up to the senior Spanish team. The center back made his debut in a friendly against England and celebrated his first goal against Turkey in his first official duel. With Barça he won another League, and although he could not reach the Champions League final, he was undisputed on the list of teams that would play in the World Cup in South Africa. The tournament couldn’t have started worse, with an unexpected defeat against Switzerland and a cut on his lip that accompanied him throughout the tournament. However, despite their bad luck with the blows, Piqué and the Spanish team recovered by overcoming the first phase and would go through qualifying rounds until they reached Johannesburg. The final against Holland was not resolved until the last minutes of extra time, but Spain had its first World Champion star with two Leyenda centre-backs.
Champions 2011
After the World Cup success, Piqué returned to Barcelona as one of the best centre-backs in the world. At 22 years old, he had already won almost everything, but he continued to mature as a person and grow as a footballer. The arrival of Mourinho to the Madrid bench warmed up the Classics of the season, and the 5-0 of the first duel made relations between the Spaniards of both teams explode. Real Madrid and Barça played the 3 titles in 4 almost consecutive classics where sparks flew. The whites won the Cup, but Barça sealed the League and emerged victorious from the Champions League semi-finals. In the Wembley final, Barça played one of the best games in its history and won its fourth European Cup.
The 2011-2012 season Piqué began by winning the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid and the European Super Cup against Porto, in addition to welcoming the return of his great friend to Barça Cesc Fàbregas. However, Guardiola’s men could not keep up with Real Madrid’s pace in the League, where the whites achieved a record 100 points. In the Champions League Piqué and Barcelona reached the semi-finals, but Chelsea eliminated them at the Camp Nou after an unfortunate tie. After losing two titles in one week, Guardiola announced his departure at the end of the season, although he was able to sweeten his departure with the Copa del Rey title.
Euro 2012
With the tension of the last Clásicos still present, Piqué went with Spain to Euro 2012. Puyol’s injury caused him to have to share the center of defense with Sergio Ramos, forming possibly the best center back duo in the history of Spanish football. Despite their differences in seeing life, both completed a memorable tournament, and Spain won its second consecutive Euro Cup in kyiv. Absent in 2008, Piqué won his first Euro with Spain and completed an enviable record.
With Puyol increasingly punished by injuries, Piqué returned to Barça with Mascherano as his most common teammate in the center of the defense and completed another league to remember. Tito Vilanova’s Barça managed to equal the record of 100 points, although with Messi’s physical problems, it faded in the rest of the competitions. Real Madrid eliminated them from the Cup, and Bayern beat them 7-0 on aggregate in the Champions League semi-finals.
Brazil World Cup 2014
Vilanova’s illness caused the arrival of Tata Martino, with whom Piqué and Barça never hit it off. The culés could only win the Spanish Super Cup and lost the League and the Champions League against Simeone’s Atlético. The virtuosity of Tiqui-taca was being lost, and Spain would notice it too. Piqué attended his second World Cup in Brazil 2014, and in the first match, Spain received a beating. Robben’s Holland took revenge for the final in South Africa by beating La Roja 5-1, who would end up eliminated in the first phase after another defeat against Chile.
The Triplet of 2015
After the World Cup failure, Piqué returned to Barcelona to place himself under the command of Luis Enrique. The Asturian coach evolved Barça’s game, and Piqué completed one of the best years of his career. After a hesitant start, the culés won the League, the Cup, and the Champions League, and Gerard lifted the fourth European Cup of his career. In the following season Piqué and Barça won another League and Cup double, and the Catalan center back attended his second Euro Cup as an International. Spain began by beating the Czech Republic with a goal from Piqué in the last breath but ended up being eliminated by Italy in the round of 16. It was the end of the Del Bosque era and the goodbye of Torres, Villa, Xabi Alonso, or Xavi Hernandez.
In 2017, the culés completed an epic comeback against PSG in the Champions League but ended up falling with a crash against Juventus Turin. Zidane’s Real Madrid won the League and the Champions League, and Luis Enrique finished his time as Barça coach with another Cup title. His departure and that of Neymar seemed to mark the end of a stage, but with Ernesto Valverde Barça ended up taking flight and won another League and Cup double. The team seemed capable of repeating another hat trick but said goodbye to the Champions League in the quarterfinals with a debacle in Rome. The Italians came back from 4-1 in the first leg, and Piqué was one of those identified in that European elimination.
Russia World Cup 2018
With the Spanish team Piqué continued to be a fixture for Lopetegui, although he had to fight with the whistles that were dedicated to him in some Spanish cities. The Barça defender defended that the Catalans vindicated their independence ideas and dealt with questions from the press with courage. On the field, Piqué constantly silenced the debate about his patriotic feelings and went to Russia to play in his last World Cup. Lopetegui’s unexpected dismissal led to an early elimination against the hosts and Piqué’s final farewell as an international. He played with the Spanish team for 9 years, where he made more than 100 appearances and scored 5 goals.
European Goals
At more than 30 years old, Piqué began the final stretch of his career in good shape and renewed his contract with Barça. The center back became the highest-paid defender in the world with a contract that amounted to 15 million euros tax-free. Piqué staged his good moment by winning the League 18-19 and had his highest scoring season with 7 goals in all competitions. After a great campaign in the Champions League and beating Liverpool 3-0, Barça had half a foot in the final but ended up succumbing at Anfield. Liverpool’s 4-0 lead caused another European disaster. The culés ended the season losing the Cup final, and although Valverde continued as coach, he only held the position until January 2020. The arrival of Quique Setién did not solve the team’s problems, and the unexpected pandemic broke the club’s economic and sporting schemes. Piqué renewed his contract until 2024, deferring his salary, but Barça lost the League and made another fool of themselves in Europe against Bayern Munich.The Germans beat the culés 2-8 and Piqué showed his face asking for changes in the club.
The squad was aging, and financial problems complicated the renewal of the locker room. Piqué continued to start with Koeman, who regretted the lack of resources on his roster of players. Second in the League and beaten by Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League, Barça saved the season 20-21 by winning the Copa del Rey. Piqué didn’t know it yet, but that would be his last title as a Barça player.
The arrival of Laporta and the abrupt departure of Messi disrupted Barcelona’s plans, which ended up turning to Xavi to change the team’s poor dynamics. Unfortunately, Barça was eliminated from the first phase of the Champions League, and Piqué began to suffer problems with injuries. After closing the season without any title, Barça activated several economic levers to renew the team, and Xavi spoke with Piqué to confess that he did not count on him. The club wanted to get rid of his high salary, and the Catalan center back started the year as the fifth center back in the squad. Injuries in the center of the defense allowed Piqué to play 10 games but after a horrible comeback against Inter, another elimination in the first phase of the Champions League and hearing some whistles from a sector of the fans, Gerard announced his retirement by surprise.
Withdrawal
After 616 games and 52 goals scored with Barça, Piqué he said goodbye to the fans in his last home game, where he deeply excitedly promised that he would return. His brilliant life as a businessman allows him to give up a million dollar contract, and the affection of the people places him as the future president of the club. Piqué was not the most professional footballer in the world, but he was a fan dressed as a footballer, a scourge for Real Madrid fans, and one of the best centre-backs in Barça’s history Controversies aside and, with 33 titles behind him, an entire football legend is retiring.
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