Last night, in a shocking bit of development, Barcelona legend Gerard Pique announced his retirement from the game of football.
The 35-year-old veteran defender confirmed that the upcoming La Liga game against UD Almeria will be last one he will ever play at Spotify Camp Nou, while adding that he did not wish to don the jersey of any other club apart from Barcelona, thus confirming his retirement.
While Barça had been trying to get the centre-back to move on from the club due to his diminished role and massive wages, the news of his retirement came as a bolt out of the blue.
Now, Helena Condis has provided an update on how Pique’s retirement came to materialise all of a sudden.
As per the journalist, the veteran superstar was greatly affected by the recent issues created in the media surrounding him and his performances.
Pique had found game-time hard to come by this season, but a spate of injuries in the defensive contingent meant that Xavi was forced to call upon the 35-year-old more frequently.
And while Pique was solid in a few games, he let the team down in some matches, particularly in the clash against Inter Milan, following which he was heavily criticised. The former Manchester United ace was also whistled on a few occasions by the fans.
It is claimed that the defender felt that he was no longer respected.
Furthermore, Helena Condis also adds that Pique felt hurt by president Joan Laporta, although he does not wish to take this matter into public. The feeling of hurt could be because of the president’s recent remarks about some players not agreeing on wage cuts in the summer.
These factors have seemingly played a role in Pique deciding it was time for him to call an end to his illustrious career as a footballer. Irrespective of what has happened in the past few months, there is no denying that he will go down as an absolute legend at Barcelona.