Barcelona paid tributes to Gerard Pique as the legendary La Liga defender plays his final game against Almeria at Camp Nou.
A series of images and videos, showcasing the efforts of Spanish giants Barcelona, as well as the club’s fans, to pay tribute to Gerard Pique, have come to the fore online.
Gerard Pique announced his retirement which rocked the Blaugrana to their very core, of course, earlier this week.
The iconic defender Pique confirmed plans to bring a close to his career with almost immediate effect.
With just two fixtures to see out before the break for the Qatar World Cup comes into effect, Barca’s La Liga meeting with Almeria was Pique’s last at the Camp Nou.
In turn, it should come as little surprise to hear of tributes pouring in for one of the Catalan giants’ greatest-ever defenders.
Prior to kick-off on Saturday night, club and supporters came together as one, to kick Pique’s farewell into gear.
Banners and posters could be seen throughout the Camp Nou stands, serving as gratitude for a remarkable 14-year stint in Blaugrana colours.
Xavi Hernandez, meanwhile, a long-time former teammate of Pique’s, was sure to mark the veteran’s special night with the captain’s armband.
In addition, Barca’s stars too paid their respects, in warming up ahead of kick-off whilst donning jerseys with Pique’s name and number emblazoned across the back.
During the game, Barcelona headed in at the interval at the Camp Nou, thanks to a fine finish from wide-man Ousmane Dembele.
Gerard Pique played 616 games for the Catalan club. The talented centre-back also has a whopping 102 caps for the Spanish national team.
He has won everything that there is to be won in a Barcelona shirt. He signs off as one of the club’s most decorated players and although his retirement midseason comes as a surprise, he can go out as one of the greats of the game.
The Spaniard has not had the best of times this campaign with Pique losing his starting spot in the team to the likes of Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia and even the likes of Marcos Alonso.
Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Manchester United are among the high-profile top stars that send their tributes to Gerard Pique after he played his last game for Barcelona.
Gerard Pique’s retirement surprisingly came in the middle of a football without exhausting his contract with the club.
This points to the difficulties and challenges he faced at Barcelona under his former teammate who emerge as manager of the club.
Gerard Pique knew his time at Barcelona was up after he played second fiddle to other Barcelona defenders in the Xavi-led team.
He has only managed five appearances this season and was widely criticized in Barcelona’s 3-3 draw with Inter Milan, which led to the team crashing out of the Champions League.
However, despite the backlash, Gerard Pique is leaving Barcelona as a celebrated hero. There are speculations that he is interested in running for the post of the President of the club in the nearest future.
