Barcelona: After Lionel Messi’s exit from Barcelona, the Catalan giants might brace up for another void after the center-back hinted at his future at the club. Pique, who is the oldest member currently at the club, has also the most goals scored to his name during his stay at Camp Nou so far.
“I will retire at Barca,” said Pique. The Spaniard has 50 goals to his name, followed by Ousmane Dembele (30), Phillipe Coutinho (24) and Jordi Alba (22). It is no surprise he is thinking about calling it quits, although he hasn’t mentioned any specific date.
“This could be the last season. I go year after year, so I cannot assure that I will be 100 per cent next season. The day I see that I can’t give the team everything I’ve been giving these years, I’ll go. I know when I’m good and when I’m not,” added the 34-year-old veteran.
Pique, who is a La Masia graduate has spent few years in Manchester United, before returning to his home club Barcelona. He has all the major accolades to his name including four Champions League crowns, eight La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies and six Spanish Super Cups besides the World Champion medal in 2010.
Barcelona recently went through their roughest phase in recent times, both on and off the field. They lost their star player Messi due to financial debts and also let go of Antoine Griezmann on loan to Atletico Madrid for taking off the weight from the wage structure.
However, Pique anticipates a bright future is waiting for his club. “Now I am hopeful and excited. The next 5 or 10 years will be very good for Barca,” he said. He has 568 appearances for Barcelona and helped the team win trophies and bring glory for years now.
One of the club captains, Pique took a substantial pay cut during the dire condition of Barcelona and helped register the new signings. His actions made the path, which was followed by the other captains. He will certainly go down as one of the legends of the club.
