In June, Joan Laporta, the president of Barcelona, addressed a gathering of the club’s members, stating, “We may assume that players, with their reputation and wealth, do not experience hardship. He is an exceptional individual and we are fortunate to have him as our captain. He has contributed significantly to our success and continues to have much more to offer,” that’s what he commented.
Pique, who had finished the 2021-22 season playing through the pain of an adductor injury, came after a difficult season as a team that ended up securing qualification for the Champions League, making his experience crucial.
The draw between Milan Inter and Barca in last week’s Champions League group game, which ended in a 3-3 tie, definitely played a significant role in eliminating the competition. The disastrous showing by the 35-year-old player has led many to believe that Pique still has a lot to improve on, even though he has left the Nou Camp and moved forward to a different club.
The club is facing a very unwelcome drag on its finances due to Pique’s huge contract, which runs until June 2024. Other various directors at Barca, meanwhile, have made it clear that Laporta has been making the situation complicated.
Pique was substituted late. As the action joined in, he decided to join in with more cheers than whistles from the Nou Camp on Thursday’s 3-0 victory over Villarreal in La Liga. It just added to the feeling that he was playing his last game for the club. It could have been a lot better situation for both sides if he had managed to play more games for the club recently.
Last summer, Pique was praised by Laporta for being a fitting player, widely recognized as one of Barca’s best-ever centre-backs, who has won eight La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues wearing the Blaugrana shirt over the span of a decade.
Using his personal business contacts, Bartomeu Maria Josep, the previous president, secured lucrative sponsorship deals. He also contributed to pitching off the competition by utilizing his connections. As a senior player, he proudly defended the club through successful battles, including the Clasico matches against Espanyol, the city’s neighbors, and Real Madrid, their rivals. Bernabeu Amador, his grandfather, was a vice-president of the club when Gerard entered La Masia at the age of 10. The Catalan club is also steeped in history within Barca.
During Bartomeu’s tenure, there was a significant increase in player salaries, which allegedly reached a staggering €142 million before taxes. Barcaleaks suggest that both the team and the player were performing exceptionally well at that time, despite the fact that there were indications of a substantial financial commitment. In December 2017, when the 30-year-old Pique agreed to a new five-year contract, it appeared to be a normal progression in his career.
In terms of wages and taxation, this implies that Pique is estimated to be incurring approximately €30m for the club this year, and €40m for the following year. That agreement has been altered throughout the years, as Pique and other experienced athletes consented to postpone their salary to assist Barcelona’s financial situation, both during the concluding phases of Bartomeu’s tenure and after Laporta resumed presidency in early 2021.
The transfer fees and squad wages for the 2022-23 season have once again increased, amounting to a total cost of €656 million (£575 million, $642 million) for Barcelona. This is due to various reasons, including the historic salary deferrals.
The representatives did not want to pay all the money due to his player, but the club hierarchy made it clear that they would not put severe pressure on Pique. Along with Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Frenkie de Jong, Pique also had fellow ‘captains’ Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets as high-earners. These wages are also a reason why even Laporta praised Pique’s last contribution to the club, opening the door for him to leave in June.
The president of the economic club, Jaume Guardiola, stated, “We still have ways to eliminate contracts or accelerate exits, which are above the market rate.” This point was made by various speakers at the recent AGM held by Inter three days before. Many stories appeared in the Catalan press, claiming that Pique and other ‘captains’ were not sufficiently loyal to Barca and were being selfish.
During the previous summer, the president of the club expressed, “We have made attempts with different players (to agree to salary reductions), but it was not possible, therefore we had to personally provide assurances of €10 million.” Laporta also echoed this sentiment by openly highlighting the contrast between himself and other board members, who personally ensured that Barca could officially register all their new acquisitions with La Liga.
None of the long-serving players, including Robert Lewandowski, have enjoyed regularly being pointed out in such a negative way, considering all they have done for the club on the pitch over their careers. Especially Laporta, the board has been busy this summer activating financial levers to spend over €150m on new signings and secure the future. Their advisers and the position of these players suggest that Barca has already done plenty to help them through the difficult last few years and they are not just going to give up the agreed-upon money.
Xavi has been more careful with his public comments about Pique, but he told his former teammate that he would be the fifth-choice centre-back behind the younger arrivals of Christensen, Kounde, Garcia, and Araujo for the team in the 2022-23 season, although he still maintained that he was proud of Pique.
In both matches, Barcelona managed to secure fortunate 1-0 victories, with Pique actively participating in determined defensive efforts and helping the team keep clean sheets against Mallorca and Celta Vigo in the Spanish League. Christensen was also unavailable, as Kounde and Araujo got injured while on national team duty.
At the Nou Camp, every time Pique touched the ball, whistles rang out. Gosens, the Italian player, scored the first goal for Inter, catching Robin off guard. Before he realized it, Pique had let Barella slip behind him to score, covering everything before signaling his arms out in frustration. The lasting image of the game was the veteran’s competitive level, which was a more realistic marker of Pique’s current form against Inter, after last week’s debacle.
After conceding two goals in the 3-1 defeat, Garcia was at fault for both. However, neither the Blaugrana fans nor any Real Madrid fans criticized the decision to play him in last weekend’s Clasico. Pique knew that there was zero chance of going back into the game, so he referred to those among them who knew everyone’s mistakes and blamed Xavi for allowing Inter to come back.
If he were no longer valuable to Barca’s first team, he would willingly step aside, which Pique had previously expressed as a situation that has brought renewed attention to.
Following the disastrous 8-2 defeat in the Champions League quarter-finals against Bayern Munich in August 2020, he straightforwardly expressed, “I’m willing to be the first to step aside if it allows for fresh talent to join.”
At Benfica in a Champions League group match, Barca suffered a 3-0 defeat after Pique was substituted in the first half. Shortly after, in October 2021, he stated to El Pais, “I will definitely retire at Barca, but I refuse to retire as a substitute.” “I wouldn’t want to spend an entire season on the bench.”
The Kosmos holding company, owned by Segunda Division side Andorra, is involved in running the Davis Cup tennis competition. Additionally, his business interests are also kept close to home. He was told that there would be little opportunity to play this season, even after being informed about the attempts made to find a new club for him. Xavi, Iniesta, Andres Villa, and David, his former teammates, have not considered the idea of him playing in the Middle East, Japan, or MLS for a couple of years, or signing him for any other club.
Lately, Pique has maintained a conspicuously reduced presence, for an individual so frequently in the limelight, expressing his viewpoints. He has also been silent on social networking platforms and has refrained from speaking in the mixed zone at Camp Nou throughout the entire season. The defender is pursued by local tabloid photographers for snapshots of him with his new companion amidst turmoil in his private life — his relationship with Shakira has come to an end.
On the pitch, Pique did nothing wrong in his few minutes, but the game was already over. Barcelona keeps up their victory, securing three points within Real Madrid’s reach, thanks to Lewandowski’s double razor-sharp set. However, Alonso had some awkward moments in the unfamiliar early position in the game. Pique’s choice to place himself in the sixth position now makes him play alongside Kounde in Barcelona’s defense center, alongside Alonso, who was a former full-back for Chelsea. Such suffering continued for another 90 minutes on Thursday night, remaining silent.
It is a difficult position to find oneself in, even with all his money and fame, to have no easy way out. Inigo Martinez, a potential target, could be a move for another club or for Barcelona to rescind his contract or accept it, putting pressure on Pique. Both Xavi and Laporta have suggested in recent days that they could move for another centre-back in the January market.