Gerard Pique’s retirement: A result of poor form or mental pressure and media trials
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Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique, one of Barcelona’s old guards and highest trophy winners, stunned the football world on Thursday as he announced his retirement with immediate effect. The defender, who had a charismatic image, posted an emotional video on Twitter, thanking billions of his his fans and the Catalan club for their constant support. Bidding adieu, was shocking, to say the least. It has left football fans around the globe in a daze, nay, state of numbness.
Indeed, the retirement decision was shocking, as if an earthquake high on the Richter scale had jolted fans. This time, the rude shock did not have a well defined epicenter with latitude and longitude but far beyond the boundaries of Spain. According to multiple reports, no player or staff manager except Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez had an inkling about Pique’s plans. It is an altogether different matter, now, many football pundits can talk of how the Spaniard’s retirement was impending and the inevitable had to happen.
Pique’s romance with the Beautiful Sport started at a young age of 10 when he arrived in Barcelona. He garnered 30 trophies, was a key member of Spain’s World Cup winning squad in 2010 and then featured in the European Championship triumph two years later. Those were the years when Pique gave fans an incredible high with his performances. In one snap decision, Pique decided to pack up. Like the trophies in his showcase, Pique goes to bed on Saturday night after featuring in the last match between Barcelona and Almeria in the La Liga. There will be tears shed, fans will go hysterical, when he waves fans for that one last goodbye. Fans are piqued if Pique took the decision voluntarily or was coerced into it. He has been going through hard and emotional times, off late. Most of them relate to issues beyond the perimeters of the lush green football field.
Before Gerard Pique’s retirement
Gerard Pique first grabbed headlines in 2010. It was not just because of winning the Jules Rimet Trophy but also because that was the time he had started romancing Popstar Shakira at the World Cup in South Africa. The two jived, jammed and joked, before finally making their relationship official in May 2011.
Legally speaking, Pique and Shakira never exchanged marriage vows. Here was a duo whose chemistry was defined by heart and raging hormones. It had set the world on fire, in a manner of speech, as they were discussed so often and featured in news often. That the couple had two children, Sacha and Milan, is well known. Problems increased between the two in 2022 and they finally decided to split in June, almost 11 years after they started romancing with each other.
To be sure, the entire media shifted its attention towards Pique. He was being riled and ridiculed, mostly at the receiving end. For someone who was a a defender with the solidity of the Rock Of Gibraltar, Pique failed to parry the attacks from the media hounds and paparazzi. After the split with Shakira, he was spotted kissing his girlfriend Clara Chia. This was just weeks after his separation. Shakira’s fans came down on Pique like a ton of bricks. They slammed the Spanish star on all social media platforms. There were even death threats issued to Pique and his new babe Clara Chia.
An environment of hate and media witch hunt around Gerard Pique
Indeed, these were traumatic times for Pique. His private life had become public and he was being lampooned on a daily basis. Such battering from media and social media would have definitely ripped him apart, internally. After all, the best of humans become weak when they are subjected to such intense scrutiny day in and day out. From hotels to airports, Pique and Clara Chia were hunted and hounded by reporters, with juicy stories being belted out on media and social media.
The result was so adverse that Pique’s lawyers were forced to come out and issue a statement in which they called out “various rumors and pieces of unverified information” about the player circulating on social media after his separation from Shakira. They even threatened the media houses and paparazzi with “legal action” if more such bilge was going to be spread on social media.
However, despite the warning, the incorrigible media campaign continued against Pique. Worse, fans started booing Pique and were abusing him during matches using Shakira’s chants. Unfortunately, every minute detail of his legal battle with Shakira over their children’s custody was posted by the media. In most cases, he was portrayed as the villain from Spain and not the football icon who had won hearts with his magic skills.
These malicious campaigns were nerve wracking. It also dented the Spaniard’s morale and confidence. Pique was harangued and day by day it was getting harder for him to live a peaceful life.
Gerard Pique: Playing time and stats in 2022-23 season
In 2020, after Barcelona lost 8-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Pique stood up tall and stated, “If we need new blood, I’ll be the first to go.” In 2022, when the Catalan club is still in its reconstruction phase and has already been kicked out of the Champions League, Pique certainly appears to have fulfilled his promise.
However, are numbers alone responsible for his quick retirement that he couldn’t even have waited for his contract (which was supposed to get over in 2024) or at least the current season to get over? Some people who watched Barcelona’s home match against Inter Milan might be answering this question in the affirmative as Pique gave, rather gifted, two easy goals to the opposition.
However, those who have been following him for the last two years are aware the Spaniard was given lesser playing time, especially this season. That was after the availability of Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, and Andreas Christensen. Intriguingly, the 35-year-old Pique maintained an average rating of 7.28 in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
This again indicates that playing for less time or poor numbers alone could not have led Pique to reach such a decision. It meant, there were a couple of other factors that could have led to his retirement.
Gerard Pique does Barcelona a favor even with his retirement
Just as he decided to leave the club, if at all it was needed, Gerard Pique was one of the first players to accept a wage cut when FC Barcelona faced a funds crunch. Carrying forward, after his retirement, Pique has decided not to take deferred wages from the club. The total stakes he is giving up is close to a whopping €30 million.
Amidst reports of rifts between club Pique and President Joan Laporta and between Pique and Xavi Hernandez, the defender’s love for Barcelona never died. He had said in the past it would be the last club he’d ever play football for. How Barcelona club and its fans have treated one their biggest icon during troubled times now comes under scrutiny.
Gerard Pique’s career might have involved a lot of great moments and controversies. But, what has not been reported or what might come into the picture, later on, is the poor condition of his mental health, as pointed out by some renowned Spanish journalists. The 35-year-old will play his last professional match against Almeria at Camp Nou.
Also Read: “Ship him to China; A cheater”- Fans react to Gerard Pique’s sudden move to leave Barcelona
Also Read: Shakira furious with Gerard Pique for not visiting her ill father: Reports
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Anshul Singh
(239 Articles Published)