On Thursday, the football world was rocked by Gerard Pique announcing his retirement
The Barcelona player was one of the best central defenders of the last decade and made his announcement through social networks.
The news surprised all the media and Pique’s teammates, something that no one expected.
A retirement in the middle of the season, in November, is unusual, but when the reasons are considered then the decision begins to make sense.
Pique’s lack of minutes
Pique was the fifth-choice centre-back in his team this year, behind Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde, and his coach did not count on him much at all.
Only injuries to all his teammates have meant that the Catalan has had minutes so far this season, otherwise he would not have had any.
Between LaLiga Santander and the Champions League, he has played nine matches, amassing a total of 555 minutes.
In the few matches he has played, the central defender has struggled, committing numerous blunders, something that even provoked the whistling of his fans.
Xavi already told him that it would be difficult to break into the team, but Pique wanted to try. Now he has seen that he has not been able to.
Pique’s marital struggles
His recent split with Shakira has not helped the footballer’s situation. His alleged infidelity and subsequent relationship with Clara Chia has put his personal life in the headlines.
Shakira has already composed two songs that seem to criticize him.
Furthermore, the custody battle over their children has hurt Pique.
If Shakira finally goes to live permanently in the United States, Pique would not be able to see his children, which is something that hurts him deeply.
His family is above all else and he is not willing to be away from them just to stay and play in Barcelona.
The club wanted him to leave
The criticism that Pique received in the match that Barcelona played against Inter was one of the triggers.
The central defender did not expect this big blow and was disappointed with both the fans and the club.
Many of the comments came from the club, because they wanted him to leave due to the large salary he earns and to leave salary space for further new signings.
Faced with this, Pique personally informed Joan Laporta that he wanted to leave the club before the situation got any worse.
His burgeoning business empire
In addition to his football, Pique’s burgeoning business empire has recently taken his focus away from the pitch.
He organized the Davis Cup while his team was playing, something that did not please the fans, and he has been investing in various other companies.
In his farewell video he says that “sooner or later, I’ll be back”, something that brings him very close to the presidential box.
It has been rumored many times that Pique could be president of the club and, after his retirement, anything is possible.
Age is no longer on his side either. I think he took the best decision.