Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered to be one of the greatest defenders of his generation and is one of the most decorated players with 37 trophies. In 2022, he founded the Kings League sports league based in Spain and eventually across several countries and regions.
Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La Masia academy, Piqué began his professional career with Manchester United in 2004. He returned to Barcelona in 2008 and helped the club win trebles in 2008–09 and 2014–15. He appeared in 616 competitive matches for the club and won 31 major club titles, including nine La Liga trophies and three UEFA Champions League titles. He is one of only four players to have won the Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Samuel Eto'o.
Piqué also represented Spain 102 times, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role on the Spanish teams that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He retired from the national team after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Early life and career
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu was born on 2 February 1987 in Barcelona, Catalonia. He started his career playing for FC Barcelona's youth teams as a defensive midfielder, but before he signed his first professional contract with the club, he decided to join Manchester United. The Premier League club did not pay a fee for Piqué as he was too young to have a professional contract.Manchester United
Piqué made his debut for Manchester United in October 2004, as a centre-back, a 67th minute replacement for John O'Shea in a 3–0 League Cup victory at Crewe Alexandra. He made his full debut in January 2005 in a 0–0 FA Cup draw with Exeter City. Piqué made his Premier League debut on 15 October 2005, again as a substitute for O'Shea, in a 3–1 win over Sunderland. His first league start came on 29 March 2006 against West Ham United at Old Trafford, playing at right-back, as Gary Neville was unavailable due to injury.His performances, most notably in the reserve team, earned him a new contract, which he signed in February 2005, to run until the summer of 2009. On 4 August 2006, however, La Liga club Real Zaragoza secured Piqué on a season-long loan. The terms of the loan required Piqué to feature in at least 20 games for the Aragonese club, which he did, as he made 22 first team appearances in a successful spell, alongside Argentine Gabriel Milito, either as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder.
On 5 May 2007, it was announced that Piqué would be staying at Old Trafford for the following season. Manager Alex Ferguson had intended to assess Piqué's form at La Romareda on 6 May, prior to a meeting where the two parties would discuss Piqué's future prospects with the club. However, Ferguson was unable to attend because of airline difficulties.
Piqué's return to Old Trafford saw him make nine league appearances during the 2007–08 season. In his first start in the UEFA Champions League, a 4–0 home win against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007, Piqué scored the first of Manchester United's four goals in that match. In doing so, he became the 450th player to score at least one goal for the club. His second goal for the club also came in the Champions League, in an away match against Roma on 12 December 2007.
Return to Barcelona
On 27 May 2008, Piqué signed a four-year contract with Barcelona, with a €5 million buy-out clause. Barcelona paid a £5 million fee for the player. He expressed his joy at re-signing with his boyhood club, although he admitted he had enjoyed his spell at Manchester United:Piqué's first goal for Barcelona came in the club's 5–2 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage win at Sporting CP on 26 November. His first domestic goal for the club followed two months later, on 29 January 2009, in a Copa del Rey match against local rivals Espanyol. The goal, which came from a corner kick in the 57th minute, turned out to be the game winner in a 3–2 victory for Barcelona. On 2 May, Piqué scored Barcelona's sixth goal in a 6–2 El Clásico win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
On 13 May, he picked up the first trophy of his Barcelona career as he helped his club to a 4–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey Final. Three days later, Barcelona clinched the 2008–09 La Liga title after Real Madrid lost 3–2 to Villarreal, with two games left in the season. On 27 May, Piqué played against his former club Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final, which Barcelona won 2–0 in Rome, completing a historic treble and becoming the first Spanish club to achieve this feat.
On 19 December 2009, Piqué was in the Barcelona team which beat Argentine club Estudiantes 2–1 in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup Final at Abu Dhabi to complete an unprecedented sextuple. Piqué assisted Pedro's 89th minute equalising goal which took the match to extra-time. On 26 February 2010, Piqué signed a contract extension to keep him at Barcelona until at least summer 2015. On 28 April, Piqué scored in Barcelona's 1–0 Champions League semi-final second leg victory against Inter Milan, though his team went out 3–2 on aggregate.
On 7 December 2010, Piqué captained his first match for Barcelona, a 5–0 victory against Russian club Rubin Kazan at Camp Nou in the last Champions League group stage match, in the absence of regular captain Carles Puyol and vice-captain Xavi. On 28 May 2011, Piqué played in his second Champions League Final. Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3–1 at Wembley Stadium to lift the UEFA Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
Piqué started in Barcelona's 4–0 victory against Brazilian club Santos in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final in Yokohama on 18 December.
On 20 May 2014, Piqué signed a contract extension with Barcelona, keeping him at the club until 2019.
Piqué started for Barcelona in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final on 6 June, as the club won its fifth European Cup/Champions League title by beating Juventus 3–1 at Berlin's Olympiastadion. This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup, and European Cup twice. Piqué, Xavi, Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Dani Alves, and Pedro are the only players to have been a part of both treble-winning teams.
On 20 December 2015, Piqué played in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final against Argentine club River Plate in Yokohama, with Barcelona winning 3–0.
Piqué extended his contract again on 18 January 2018, this time until 2022. On 25 August 2019, he played for a full 90 minutes in a 5–2 win against Real Betis, his 500th game for the club.
On 20 October 2020, Piqué signed a contract extension that would keep him at the club until 20 June 2024, setting his buy-out clause at €500 million. On 3 March 2021, Piqué scored a last-minute header in the Copa del Rey semi-finals against Sevilla, tying the aggregate score to send the game to extra time. Barcelona won the game 3–0 in extra time and advanced to the 2021 Copa del Rey Final, which the team won.
On 3 November 2022, Piqué announced that he would retire following Barcelona's La Liga match against Almería on 5 November. Starting as captain, he was substituted off to a standing ovation in the 83rd minute of Barcelona's 2–0 win. For the celebrations, Barcelona players wore special shirts with Piqué's name and number 3 on the back and "SEMPR3" printed on the front. La Liga president Javier Tebas stated he had no doubt that Piqué would one day return and become a "great president of Barcelona". Piqué was still on the squad list, named as a substitute, for the final match before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, away against Osasuna on 8 November; he was given a straight red card from the bench at half time after arguing with the referee over the second-yellow red card given to teammate Robert Lewandowski in the first half.
International career
Youth teams
Piqué was a member of the Spain under-19 team that won the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Poland. In a 2–1 final win against Scotland, Piqué put in a strong performance in defence and also contributed in attack, hitting the crossbar with a header and providing the assist for striker Alberto Bueno to score Spain's second goal.Subsequently, he played in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting all six of Spain's matches and scoring a goal in the team's come-from-behind 4–2 victory over Brazil in the round of 16. However, Piqué missed the deciding penalty in the shoot-out against the Czech Republic, and Spain was eliminated at the quarter-final stage.
Senior side
On 6 February 2009, Piqué was called up to the senior squad for the friendly against England on 11 February. He played the entire match in a 2–0 win, in Seville. In his second match as an international on 28 March 2009, he was called up as a replacement for injured teammate Carles Puyol and he scored the only goal in Spain's victory in the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Turkey at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Four days later, he started in Istanbul in a 2–1 win, also in the group stage. Piqué made his tournament debut for Spain at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, starting in four of the team's five matches as La Roja finished in third place.Piqué was Spain's first-choice centre-back at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, playing alongside Puyol. He started all seven matches as Spain won the tournament, defeating the Netherlands 1–0 in the final. Piqué's partnership with Puyol saw Spain concede only twice in seven World Cup matches and keep four consecutive clean sheets in the knockout stage. In Spain's 1–0 group stage defeat to Switzerland, just before Gelson Fernandes scored the only goal of the game, Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok tumbled over Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas and accidentally kicked Piqué in the face, knocking him over and leaving him with a deep cut beside his right eye.
Piqué played every minute of Spain's UEFA Euro 2012 campaign, partnering Sergio Ramos in the centre of defence. He successfully converted the team's third penalty in a semi-final shoot-out win over Portugal. In the final, Spain recorded a fifth consecutive clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Italy. Piqué was one of three Spanish defenders included in UEFA's Team of the Tournament as La Roja conceded only one goal in six matches.
At the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, Piqué was the third of Spain's seven successful takers in a 7–6 shootout win over Italy at the semi-final stage. On 30 June 2013, Piqué was sent off during the final against Brazil. He received a straight red card in the 68th minute for a violent tackle on recently signed Barcelona teammate Neymar. The match finished 3–0 to Brazil, ending Spain's world record 29 match unbeaten run in competitive internationals.
Piqué later participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with Spain seen as a favourite to win again. The squad would underperform greatly, losing 5-1 in their opening game, a rematch with the Netherlands. This would be his only appearance in the tournament as he suffered a facial injury during the match and was kept on the bench indefinitely. Spain would be eliminated in the group stage marking the beginning of the end for the Spanish national teams golden generation.
In Spain's opening group game of UEFA Euro 2016 on 13 June, Piqué scored his fifth goal for his country, a late header in a 1–0 victory against the Czech Republic.
In Spain's second group match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 20 June, a 1–0 win against Iran, Piqué made his 100th international appearance.
On 11 August 2018, Piqué announced his retirement from international football.
On 25 March 2019, Piqué won his 10th cap for Catalonia in a friendly match against Venezuela, a few months after he had retired from the Spanish national team and led the team to a 2–1 victory.