Piqué says he felt liberated with the decision to retire

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said he felt liberated when coach Xavi Hernandez took him off in the 83rd minute of a 2-0 win over Almeria on Saturday, as he walked away in tears to a standing ovation from a packed Camp Nou.

Piqué, 35, announced on Friday that this would be his last game at the historic stadium, as he has decided to retire from football when LaLiga is interrupted by the World Cup next week.

“I’ve taken a weight off my shoulders,” Pique told DAZN. “These last few months have not been easy at all and what I am left with is the happiness of having given everything from the first day I arrived here”.

“Competing and playing I have always tried to give everything, there are days that have turned out better for me, others that have gone worse like everyone else, with successes and mistakes, but I have given everything for this shirt, for these colors and that is what makes me feel proud, leaving with my homework done”.

Pique started the match as captain on Saturday in a season in which he faced heavy criticism for poor form and was not considered by coach Xavi Hernandez, who reportedly asked him at the end of the season to leave or retire.

The signings of central defenders Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde, Eric García and the emergence of the young Ronald Araujo had left Piqué out of the field of play at 35 years of age.

To this we must add the pressure of your salary, the highest of a club with financial problems and in which each euro can affect its ability to sign or register new players under the scrutiny of LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play.

According to multiple reports, Pique will forfeit the remaining year and a half of salary, a decision that will help Barcelona improve its Financial Fair Play margin.

“He played a great game, showing personality and showing what he is: the bigger the game, the better he performs,” ​​Xavi told DAZN. “That’s Piqué, we will miss him. He is a Barça legend and we are super grateful for his legacy at the club.”

After the game, Piqué was lifted into the air by his teammates and celebrated by the fans who repeatedly chanted “President! President! President!”, as in Barcelona he is considered a future candidate to occupy that position.

Considered one of the best central defenders of his generation, Piqué accumulated 36 trophies in 18 years of careerincluding four Champions Leagues, as well as a World Cup and a European Championship with Spain.

But he is also a successful businessman, as he is the founder of Kosmos Holding, a company that has large investments in esports, owns the Spanish second division club FC Andorra and signed a 25-year, 3 billion partnership. dollars with the International Tennis Federation to transform the Davis Cup, among other investments.

In June, Piqué announced his separation from the Colombian singer Shakira and in April he denied having committed any crime for his participation in helping the Spanish Football Federation to reach an agreement to transfer the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia, an agreement that reported his company Kosmos 23.41 million dollars in commission.

“Now a range of a thousand things opens up, I have to tidy myself up a bit, organize myself,” said Piqué. “I think this is my home, I was born here and I think that one day I will return (…) I want to enjoy with my family, with my friends, I will go on vacation for a few days with my friends.”