Gerard Pique hints at retirement post end of 2021 season: 'will exit from Barcelona only'

Barcelona central defender Gerard Pique has hinted at him possibly retiring after this season end but has vowed that he will finish his career at Camp Nou itself. The 34-year-old progressed through the youth system at La Masia before he joined Manchester United academy in 2004. In 2008 he made his return to Barcelona and has been there ever since. He has made 568 appearances for the Blaugrana scoring 51 goals and also providing 13 assists along the way.

Speaking to La Sotana, Pique said that he will retire in Barcelona and admitted that this could be his last season as a professional footballer. He said that the say he can no longer be of use to the club he will retire.

"I will retire at Barca. This could be the last season, yes. I go year after year, so I cannot guarantee that I will be there next season. The day I feel that I can’t help Barca anymore, I will retire," said Pique as quoted by Goal.com

Bartomeu 'on the list' of worst Barca presidents for Pique

However, as of now, the centre-back has committed to giving his best for the club. He also admitted to former president Josep Maria Bartomeu being one of the worst he has witnessed. Bartomeu is said to be responsible for the financial crisis that Barcelona is currently undergoing, the reason why Lionel Messi had to depart, and also why players like Pique, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets have had to take a massive pay cut.

I don’t know if he (Bartomeu) was the worst, but for me, during my time, he’s on the list for sure. We all make mistakes, but in his time Barca weren’t where they should be.

Laporta has had to make the decision of letting players go to free up space in their budget owing to the current financial crisis the club is facing. In August this year, Laporta had announced that the club is in a €1.35 billion debt and that the current net worth of the club is negative €451 million. The club has been under financial turmoil for a while now and Laporta believes the cause of it is his predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu who held the position of president for about six years from January 2014 to October 2020.

There is hope for the club according to Pique

 However, Gerard Pique is hopeful for the future of the club. They currently do have a promising crop of young talents in the form of Ansu Fati, Pedri, and Riqui Puig to name a few. Pique feels that the coming 5-10 years will be very good for the club.

"I’m excited. The next five or 10 years will be very good for Barca."

 (Image Credits: AP)