November 10, (THEWILL) – Gerard Pique has revealed the logic behind his sudden retirement, claiming that if Barcelona had not been dealing with an injury issue at centre-back, he might have called it quits sooner.
Pique made his impending retirement known on November 3 and played his final match for Barça two days later, marking his 616th appearance for the team and 769th senior match overall.
The defender, who will turn 36 in February, played only a minor role this season, but was still needed when players like Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, and Jules Kounde, were sidelined due to injury at various points.
He said: “Why retire in November? There are many reasons. People already know that I started the season with a conversation with Xavi, who told me that it was going to be difficult for him to play. I have always I said that when I was not important I would leave. If there had been no injuries in my position, I would have left before”.
“I no longer felt as I felt before. There was a day training at Camp Nou after a game in which I was about to say ‘I’m leaving now’. I saw that it was no longer my place. When [other players] started to get injured, I said ‘I can’t leave the team’. That’s why I set the break of the World Cup.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
