Gerard Pique, a defender for Barcelona, has declared his retirement from the game, and this Saturday’s La Liga encounter against Almeria will be his final.

Pique is unpopular at Barcelona
has chosen to put her boots away
His final game will be on Saturday.

WHAT OCCURED?

The defender announced in a video posted to social media that he will hang up his boots following Barcelona’s La Liga match against Almeria on Saturday. With only three La Liga starts this year, Pique has lost favour at Camp Nou and has made the decision to end his trophy-laden career.

THE BIGGER PICTURE:

Pique has spent the most of the season on the bench for Barcelona after falling behind Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, and Eric Garcia in the pecking order. The defender earlier declared that he would sooner retire than consent to serving as a bench player for the entire season, and it now appears that he will stick to his word.

And sooner or later, I’ll be returning, he added. . “I’m going to become a tremendous fan. I’m going to support the squad and teach my son how much I love Barcelona.”

Pique, who arrived at the Camp Nou at the age of 10, left his hometown for Manchester United’s academy in 2004 and won his first Champions League championship in 2008 under Alex Ferguson, the team’s manager at the time.

Upon his return to Catalonia, he assisted Barça in winning three Champions League championships in 2009, 2011 and 2015, as well as eight La Liga championships, seven Copas del Rey championships, and eight La Liga championships overall.

WHAT WILL PIQUE DO NEXT?

On Saturday at Camp Nou against Almeria, the defender will say goodbye to the supporters of Barcelona in what is sure to be an emotional match for the 35-year-old club veteran.

An athletic legend in Spain, he also had celebrity status as Shakira’s partner. While filming the music video for Shakira’s 2010 World Cup song Waka Waka, they got to know one another.

The official song was performed by Shakira before to the 2010 World Cup’s South African closing ceremony, where Pique’s Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0. The match took place in Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium.