Pique leaves Barca: Too late or too soon?

Yuvraj Bhardwaj

“I am the first to offer myself to leave Barca if new blood is to come.”

The modern-day great Gerard Pique said this after the humiliating 8-2 battering at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals in August 2020.

Now that he has finally decided to hang up his boots, could it be that he’s done it a little too late? As one of the captains and the main defender of FC Barcelona, he was criticised for the repeated disastrous European performances of the club in the past few years. But given the current injury crisis at the club, especially in defence, is the move coming too soon in the season? Could not he have stretched it out a little longer, and then maybe the entire “old guard” could have left at the end of the season? That would have enabled them to share their invaluable experience with the relatively young squad, also providing decent back-up for the injury-ridden squad.

That’s not really an option now since the towering defender has already got a farewell from a packed Camp Nou, a privilege that even the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic were deprived of in recent years.

The centre-back, known for his eventful life off the field as well, has had a career to envy. He is one of the five most decorated players in the history of the sport, winning almost every major trophy there is to win. His trophy cabinet includes the World Cup, the Euros title, four Champions League crowns and eight La Liga titles.

Despite being mercilessly trolled in recent years for being ‘too slow’, in his career he formed solid defensive partnerships with the likes of Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Sergio Ramos for club and country. Though a defender, he was never afraid to venture forward and help the team when needed, scoring 50-plus goals in his club career and earning the moniker “Striker Pique”.

A controversial figure on and off the field, he was always in the limelight, be it his relationship with global pop star Shakira, business ventures, leaked audio tapes, unabashed support for Catalonia, taunting opposition players and fans.

Pique might have done a huge favour financially to the club by retiring now and reportedly foregoing much of the ^80 million which the club owes him. It could allow the club to buy some reinforcements in the January transfer window.

In his retirement announcement video, he promised the fans that he’ll come back. Could it be as ‘El Presidente’?