Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as acentre-back. He is considered to be one of the greatest defenders of his generation[2][3][4] and is one of the most decorated players with 37 trophies.[5][6] In 2022, he founded theKings League sports league based in Spain and eventually in the world.
Initially a talented student athlete atBarcelona'sLa Masia academy, Piqué began his professional career withManchester United in 2004. He returned to Barcelona in 2008 and helped the club wintrebles in2008–09 and2014–15. He appeared in 616 competitive matches for the club and won 31 major club titles, including nineLa Liga trophies and threeUEFA Champions League titles. He is one of only four players to have won the Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others beingMarcel Desailly,Paulo Sousa, andSamuel Eto'o.
Piqué also representedSpain 102 times, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role on the Spanish teams that won the2010 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2012. He retired from the national team after the2018 FIFA World Cup.
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu[7] was born on 2 February 1987[8] inBarcelona, Catalonia.[1] He started his career playing forFC Barcelona's youth teams as adefensive midfielder, but before he signed his first professional contract with the club, he decided to joinManchester United. ThePremier League club did not pay a fee for Piqué as he was too young to have a professional contract.[9]
His performances, most notably inthe reserve team, earned him a new contract, which he signed in February 2005, to run until the summer of 2009. On 4 August 2006, however,La Liga clubReal Zaragoza secured Piqué on a season-long loan. The terms of the loan required Piqué to feature in at least 20 games for the Aragonese club,[12] which he did, as he made 22 first team appearances in a successful spell, alongside ArgentineGabriel Milito, either as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder.[citation needed]
On 5 May 2007, it was announced that Piqué would be staying at Old Trafford for the following season. ManagerAlex Ferguson had intended to assess Piqué's form atLa Romareda on 6 May, prior to a meeting where the two parties would discuss Piqué's future prospects with the club. However, Ferguson was unable to attend because of airline difficulties.[13]
Piqué's return to Old Trafford saw him make nine league appearances during the2007–08 season. In his first start in theUEFA Champions League, a 4–0 home win againstDynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007, Piqué scored the first of Manchester United's four goals in that match.[14] In doing so, he became the 450th player to score at least one goal for the club.[15] His second goal for the club also came in the Champions League, in an away match againstRoma on 12 December 2007.[16]
On 27 May 2008, Piqué signed a four-year contract with Barcelona, with a €5 million buy-out clause.[17] Barcelona paid a £5 million fee for the player.[18] He expressed his joy at re-signing with his boyhood club, although he admitted he had enjoyed his spell at Manchester United:
I am very happy to be back, I didn't think I would be here again but this is very good for me. Manchester United is a great club and I enjoyed winning things. To play with world class players has helped me and now I want to continue this at Barça.
On 13 May, he picked up the first trophy of his Barcelona career as he helped his club to a 4–1 victory overAthletic Bilbao in theCopa del Rey Final.[25] Three days later, Barcelona clinched the2008–09 La Liga title after Real Madrid lost 3–2 toVillarreal, with two games left in the season.[26] On 27 May, Piqué played against his former club Manchester United in the2009 Champions League Final, which Barcelona won 2–0 inRome,[27] completing a historictreble and becoming the first Spanish club to achieve this feat.[28]
Piqué extended his contract again on 18 January 2018, this time until 2022.[40] On 25 August 2019, he played for a full 90 minutes in a 5–2 win againstReal Betis, his 500th game for the club.[41]
On 20 October 2020, Piqué signed a contract extension that would keep him at the club until 20 June 2024, setting his buy-out clause at €500 million.[42] On 3 March 2021, Piqué scored a last-minute header in theCopa del Rey semi-finals against Sevilla, tying the aggregate score to send the game to extra time. Barcelona won the game 3–0 in extra time and advanced to the2021 Copa del Rey Final,[43] which the team won.[44]
On 3 November 2022, Piqué announced that he would retire following Barcelona's La Liga match againstAlmería on 5 November.[45] Starting as captain,[citation needed] he was substituted off to a standing ovation in the 83rd minute of Barcelona's 2–0 win. For the celebrations, Barcelona players wore special shirts with Piqué's name and number 3 on the back and "SEMPR3" printed on the front (sempre, Catalan foralways).[46] La Liga presidentJavier Tebas stated he had no doubt that Piqué would one day return and become a "great president of Barcelona".[47] Piqué was still on the squad list, named as a substitute, for the final match before the2022 FIFA World Cup, away againstOsasuna on 8 November; he was given a straight red card from the bench at half time after arguing with the referee over the second-yellow red card given to teammateRobert Lewandowski in the first half.[48]
Subsequently, he played in the2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting all six of Spain's matches and scoring a goal in the team's come-from-behind 4–2 victory overBrazil in the round of 16.[51] However, Piqué missed the deciding penalty in theshoot-out against theCzech Republic, and Spain was eliminated at the quarter-final stage.[52]
On 6 February 2009, Piqué was called up to thesenior squad for the friendly againstEngland on 11 February.[53] He played the entire match in a 2–0 win, inSeville.[54] In his second match as an international on 28 March 2009, he was called up as a replacement for injured teammateCarles Puyol and he scored the only goal in Spain's victory in the2010 World Cup qualifier againstTurkey at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium inMadrid.[55] Four days later, he started inIstanbul in a 2–1 win, also in the group stage.[56] Piqué made his tournament debut for Spain at the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, starting in four of the team's five matches asLa Roja finished in third place.[citation needed]
Piqué was Spain's first-choice centre-back at the2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, playing alongside Puyol. He started all seven matches as Spain won the tournament, defeating theNetherlands 1–0 inthe final.[57] Piqué's partnership with Puyol saw Spain concede only twice in seven World Cup matches and keep four consecutiveclean sheets in theknockout stage. In Spain's 1–0 group stage defeat toSwitzerland, just beforeGelson Fernandes scored the only goal of the game, Swiss strikerEren Derdiyok tumbled over Spain goalkeeperIker Casillas and accidentally kicked Piqué in the face, knocking him over and leaving him with a deep cut beside his right eye.[58]
Piqué played every minute of Spain'sUEFA Euro 2012 campaign, partneringSergio Ramos in the centre of defence. He successfully converted the team's third penalty in asemi-final shoot-out win overPortugal. Inthe final, Spain recorded a fifth consecutive clean sheet in a 4–0 win overItaly.[59] Piqué was one of three Spanish defenders included inUEFA'sTeam of the Tournament asLa Roja conceded only one goal in six matches.[60]
At the2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, Piqué was the third of Spain's seven successful takers in a 7–6 shootout win over Italy at thesemi-final stage. On 30 June 2013, Piqué wassent off during thefinal againstBrazil. He received a straightred card in the 68th minute for a violent tackle on recently signed Barcelona teammateNeymar. The match finished 3–0 to Brazil, ending Spain's world record29 match unbeaten run in competitive internationals.[61]
Piqué later participated in the2014 FIFA World Cup, with Spain seen as a favourite to win again. The squad would underperform greatly, losing 5-1 in their opening game, a rematch with the Netherlands. This would be his only appearance in the tournament as he suffered a facial injury during the match and was kept on the bench indefinitely. Spain would be eliminated in the group stage marking the beginning of the end for the Spanish national teams golden generation.
In Spain's opening group game ofUEFA Euro 2016 on 13 June, Piqué scored his fifth goal for his country, a lateheader in a 1–0 victory against theCzech Republic.[62]
In Spain's second group match of the2018 FIFA World Cup on 20 June, a 1–0 win againstIran, Piqué made his 100th international appearance.[63]
On 11 August 2018, Piqué announced his retirement from international football.[64]
On 25 March 2019, Piqué won his 10th cap forCatalonia in a friendly match against Venezuela, a few months after he had retired from the Spanish national team and led the team to a 2–1 victory.[65]
Piqué was a modern and commanding defender, who combined strength and tackling ability with passing. Although he was primarily deployed as a centre-back, he was a tactically versatile player who was capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, a position in which he was initially deployed in his youth; he was also deployed as asweeper on occasion, showing similarities to German legendFranz Beckenbauer, thus earning thesobriquet "Piquénbauer".[9][66][67] He was also occasionally known to use his height as an additional attacking threat by advancing into more offensive positions, often functioning as an auxiliarystriker, particularly if his team were trailing late on during matches.[67][68][69] His ball-playing ability and capacity to read the game enabled him to form an effective central-defensive partnership with the more physicalCarles Puyol, both with Barcelona and Spain.[70][71] Despite his talent in his youth, he was initially accused by certain pundits of being error-prone defensively,[72][73] and has been criticised on occasion for his inconsistency and lack of pace.[74][75] Considered to be one of the best defenders in world football by pundits,[76] in 2018, Piqué's former defensive partner Puyol described him as "the best centre-back in the world" due to his personal development as a player in terms of his intelligence, leadership, positional sense, composure, and anticipation.[77]
Piqué was raised in aCatalan family. His father, Joan, is a businessman, and his mother, Montserrat, is the director of a spinal injuries hospital in Barcelona. He has a younger brother, Marc.[78][79] His grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is a former vice-president of FC Barcelona.[80] During the2017 Catalan independence referendum, he was seen by many as one of the public faces of the pro-independence movement, voting andtweeting his support inCatalan.[81] He subsequently faced backlash from some Spanish fans for his support of the Catalan independence referendum.[82]
From 2011 to 2022, Piqué was in a relationship with Colombian singerShakira.[83] They met when he appeared in the music video for her single "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the official song of the2010 FIFA World Cup.[84] Piqué and Shakira share the same birthday, ten years apart. They have two sons together,[85][86] named Milan[87] and Sasha.[88] Amid allegations of infidelity on Piqué's part,[89] the couple confirmed in a joint statement that they were separating in June 2022.[90] Piqué has been in a relationship with Clara Chía Martí since 2022.[91][92][93]
Piqué is the founder and president of Kosmos Holding (Kosmos Global Holding S.L.), a sports and media investment group he founded withHiroshi Mikitani (founder and chairman of Japanese e-commerce firmRakuten, Inc.), Edmund Chu, Nullah Sarker, and Mike Evans.[96] Kosmos struck a deal with theInternational Tennis Federation for a 25-year, $3 billion partnership to transform theDavis Cup and generate substantial revenues for global tennis development.[97] In August 2018, U.S. billionaireLarry Ellison publicly stated his support of Kosmos and his intention to invest in the Kosmos-ITF partnership.[98] In January 2023 however, the International Tennis Federation removed Piqué and Kosmos from the partnership.[99]
Piqué is the owner of Spanish second division football clubFC Andorra, which he bought in December 2018 through his firm Kosmos Holding. On 21 May 2022, the team was promoted to the Segunda División after beating already relegated UCAM Murcia 1–0 at home, thus ascending to the second tier for the first time in their history. In July 2019, Piqué took over a majority stake in another Spanish football club –Gimnàstic Manresa. The acquisition was completed through Kosmos.[100]
In December 2020, Piqué invested in the fantasy football gameSorare.[101] Kosmos bought the Spanish broadcasting rights for the2021 Copa América in a partnership with streamerIbai Llanos,[102] and in 2021 he and Ibai founded and became co-owners of the esports team KOI.[103] The esports team later acquired a majority interest inRogue, which resulted in Piqué's team competing in theLeague of Legends European Championship.[104] As of 11 November 2022, he is president and owner of theKings League, a new format football league in Barcelona, made up of teams whose owners are content creators from Twitch, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.[105]
In 2020, in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic Piqué (along with teammates, includingLionel Messi) committed to a 70% salary cut throughout the crisis. They further committed to donating to the salaries of all employees at the club during the state of emergency.[106]
On 10 July 2019, Piqué was ordered by a Spanish court to pay €2.1 million to the tax authorities following his conviction for image rights fraud. He had been convicted by Spain's National Court in 2016 for faking the sale of his image rights to his Kerad Project company to evade taxes from 2008 to 2010.[107]
In May 2024, Pique was placed under official investigation by a court in Spain over his alleged involvement in a deal which saw the Spanish Super Cup moved to Saudi Arabia (then-RFEF presidentLuis Rubiales had been arrested and his successor Pedro Rocha was also under investigation).[108]
On 27 August 2019, Piqué took part in the EPT Barcelona €25,000 Single-Day High Roller Event. He finished in second place and won a prize of €352,950.[109]
^ab"Gerard Pique: A legend bids farewell". FIFA.Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved14 March 2023.With Manchester United, he won the League Cup in 2006, the FA Community Shield in 2007, followed by the Premier League and Champions League in 2008.
^Cheese, Caroline (5 August 2007)."Chelsea 1–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport.Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved17 April 2018.
