{"id":7167,"date":"2022-11-04T16:16:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T16:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=7167"},"modified":"2022-11-04T16:16:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T16:16:34","slug":"barcelonas-defender-gerard-pique-to-retire-from-professional-football-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/barcelonas-defender-gerard-pique-to-retire-from-professional-football-this-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona’s defender Gerard Piqu\u00e9 to retire from professional football this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Barcelona<\/a> defender Gerard Piqu\u00e9 has announced his retirement from football, saying Saturday\u2019s game against Almer\u00eda will be his last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a heartfelt video posted on his social media on Thursday, the 35-year-old Piqu\u00e9 said \u201cit is the moment to end this stage of my life\u201d after a legendary career at both club and international level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFootball has given me everything,\u201d he added<\/a>. \u201cBarcelona has given me everything. You, culers<\/em> (Barcelona fans), have given me everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd now that (this) kid\u2019s dreams have come true, I want to tell you that I\u2019ve decided that now is the time to bring this journey to its end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piqu\u00e9 retires a Barcelona great, having enjoyed a trophy-laden 14 years at the club since returning from Manchester United in 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He came through Barcelona\u2019s famed La Masia academy before signing for Manchester United and its legendary coach Alex Ferguson, where he won the Premier League and the Champions League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piqu\u00e9 returned to Barca in 2008, where he blossomed into a first-team regular and one of the world\u2019s best defenders under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, who is now Manchester City\u2019s manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piqu\u00e9 was a vital part of those famous Barcelona teams, known for it\u2019s tiki-taka style of play with Lionel Messi the main focal point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defender played 615 games \u2013 including 396 in the Spanish league and 126 in the Champions League \u2013 with Barcelona, winning eight La Liga title and the Champions League three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This season, Piqu\u00e9 has fallen down the pecking order as Barcelona attempt to transition to a new era, meaning he\u2019s found his playing time limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been thinking a lot about \u2026 what little Gerard would have thought had all his dreams come true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat he would make it to the Barca first team, that he would win every trophy possible. That he would become a European champion and world champion. That he would play alongside some of the best players in history, and captain the club and make friends for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been 25 years since I joined Barca, I left and I came back. Football has given me everything. I have always said that I would not be in any other team after I left Barca, and that is how it will be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, there have been rumors that Piqu\u00e9 could be interested in running to become Barcelona\u2019s club president. And he hinted that his time at the club is not over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will become a regular fan,\u201d Piqu\u00e9 said. \u201cI will support the team. I will pass my love for Barca to my children, like my family did with me. And you know me, sooner or later, I will be back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barcelona defender Gerard Piqu\u00e9 has announced his retirement from football, saying Saturday\u2019s game against Almer\u00eda will be his last. In a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[137,72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-sports-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/barca.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3066,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/three-lions-need-pep-tonic-at-euro-finals\/","url_meta":{"origin":7167,"position":0},"title":"Three Lions Need Pep Tonic At Euro Finals","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"BY ALLAN SSEKAMATTE\u00a0An irrepressible argument raging among Three Lions fans revolves around who among Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho, Jesse Lindgard and Jack Grealish should be an automatic starter for England during Euro 2020 finals. 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