Gerard Piqué

Lore & Background

Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La Masia academy, Piqué began his professional career with Manchester United in 2004. He returned to Barcelona in 2008 and helped the club win trebles in 2008–09 and 2014–15. He appeared in 616 competitive matches for the club and won 31 major club titles, including nine La Liga trophies and three UEFA 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 being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Samuel Eto'o. Piqué also represented Spain 102 times, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role on the Spanish teams that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He retired from the national team after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Reader's Guide

Piqué's first goal for Barcelona came in the club's 5–2 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage win at Sporting CP on 26 November 2008. His first domestic goal for the club followed two months later, on 29 January 2009, in a Copa del Rey match against local rivals Espanyol. On 3 November 2022, Piqué announced that he would retire following Barcelona's La Liga match against Almería on 5 November. Starting as captain, he was substituted off to a standing ovation in the 83rd minute of Barcelona's 2–0 win. Piqué was still on the squad list, named as a substitute, for the final match before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, away against Osasuna 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 teammate Robert Lewandowski in the first half.

Did You Know?

• He scored his first goal for Manchester United in a 4–0 Champions League win against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007.
• Piqué captained his first match for Barcelona on 7 December 2010, a 5–0 victory against Rubin Kazan.
• He played in the 2009, 2011, and 2015 Champions League finals, winning all three with Barcelona.