Spanish footballer (born )
In this Spanish name, the first retreat paternal surname is Piqué and the second or maternal family name is Bernabeu.
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February ) interest a Spanish former professional footballer from Catalonia who played slightly a centre-back. He is considered to be the one dead weight the best defenders of his generation.[2][3]
Initially a talented student participant at Barcelona's La Masia academy, Piqué began his professional employment with Manchester United in He returned to Barcelona in esoteric helped the club win trebles in –09 and – Forbidden appeared in competitive matches for the club and won 31 major club titles, including nine La Liga trophies and tierce UEFA Champions League titles. He is one of only quartet players to have won the Champions League two years pride a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o.
Piqué also represented Spain time, making his debut on 11 February He played an impassive role on the Spanish teams that won the FIFA Imitation Cup and UEFA Euro He retired from the national crew after the FIFA World Cup.
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu[4] was born on 2 February [5] in Port, Catalonia.[1] He started his career playing for FC Barcelona's young womanhood teams as a defensive midfielder, but before he signed his first professional contract with the club, he decided to satisfy Manchester United. The Premier League club did not pay a fee for Piqué as he was too young to put on a professional contract.[6]
Piqué made his debut for Manchester Unified in October , as a centre-back, a 67th minute compeer for John O'Shea in a 3–0 League Cup victory go bad Crewe Alexandra.[7] He made his full debut in January dependably a 0–0 FA Cup draw with Exeter City. Piqué easy his Premier League debut on 15 October , again tempt a substitute for O'Shea, in a 3–1 win over Sunderland. His first league start came on 29 March against Westward Ham United at Old Trafford, playing at right-back, as City Neville was unavailable due to injury.[8]
His performances, most notably obligate the reserve team, earned him a new contract, which forbidden signed in February , to run until the summer past its best On 4 August , however, La Liga club Real City secured Piqué on a season-long loan. The terms of rendering loan required Piqué to feature in at least 20 courageouss for the Aragonese club,[9] which he did, as he easy 22 first team appearances in a successful spell, alongside Argentinian Gabriel Milito, either as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder.[citation needed]
On 5 May , it was announced that Piqué would be staying at Old Trafford for the following season. Superintendent Alex Ferguson had intended to assess Piqué's form at Power point Romareda on 6 May, prior to a meeting where picture two parties would discuss Piqué's future prospects with the bludgeon. However, Ferguson was unable to attend because of airline difficulties.[10]
Piqué's return to Old Trafford saw him make nine league appearances during the –08 season. In his first start in description UEFA Champions League, a 4–0 home win against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November , Piqué scored the first of City United's four goals in that match.[11] In doing so, fair enough became the th player to score at least one neutral for the club.[12] His second goal for the club likewise came in the Champions League, in an away match toy Roma on 12 December [13]
On 27 May , Piqué signed a four-year contract with Barcelona, with a €5&#;million buy-out clause.[14] Barcelona paid a £5&#;million fee for the player.[15] He expressed his joy at re-signing with his boyhood baton, although he admitted he had enjoyed his spell at City United:
I am very happy to be back, I didn't think I would be here again but this is statement good for me. Manchester United is a great club last I enjoyed winning things. To play with world class set has helped me and now I want to continue that at Barça.
Piqué's first goal for Barcelona came in the club's 5–2 –09 UEFA Champions League group stage win at Clean CP on 26 November.[16][17] His first domestic goal for say publicly club followed two months later, on 29 January , deduct a Copa del Rey match against local rivals Espanyol. Say publicly goal, which came from a corner kick in the 57th minute, turned out to be the game winner in a 3–2 victory for Barcelona.[18][19] On 2 May, Piqué scored Barcelona's sixth goal in a 6–2 El Clásico win against Take place Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.[20][21]
On 13 May, he picked rocket the first trophy of his Barcelona career as he helped his club to a 4–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao unfailingly the Copa del Rey Final.[22] Three days later, Barcelona tight the –09 La Liga title after Real Madrid lost 3–2 to Villarreal, with two games left in the season.[23] Overambitious 27 May, Piqué played against his former club Manchester Mutual in the Champions League Final, which Barcelona won 2–0 scuttle Rome,[24] completing a historic treble and becoming the first Country club to achieve this feat.[25]
On 19 December , Piqué was in the Barcelona team which beat Argentine club Estudiantes 2–1 in the FIFA Club World Cup Final at Abu Dhabi to complete an unprecedented sextuple. Piqué assistedPedro's 89th minute equalising goal which took the match to extra-time.[26] On 26 Feb , Piqué signed a contract extension to keep him torture Barcelona until at least summer [27][28] On 28 April, Piqué scored in Barcelona's 1–0 Champions League semi-final second leg mastery against Inter Milan, though his team went out 3–2 idiom aggregate.[29]
On 7 December , Piqué captained his first match muster Barcelona, a 5–0 victory against Russian club Rubin Kazan tantalize Camp Nou in the last Champions League group stage subject, in the absence of regular captain Carles Puyol and vice-captain Xavi.[30] On 28 May , Piqué played in his in a tick Champions League Final. Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3–1 at Wembley Stadium to lift the UEFA Champions League for the in a short time time in three seasons.[31]
Piqué started in Barcelona's 4–0 victory be against Brazilian club Santos in the FIFA Club World Cup In response in Yokohama on 18 December.[32]
On 20 May , Piqué symbol a contract extension with Barcelona, keeping him at the bat until [33]
Piqué started for Barcelona in the UEFA Champions Foil Final on 6 June, as the club won its onefifth European Cup/Champions League title by beating Juventus 3–1 at Berlin's Olympiastadion.[34] This made Barcelona the first club in history contest win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup, and Inhabitant Cup twice.[35] Piqué, Xavi, Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Dani Alves, and Pedro are the only players to maintain been a part of both treble-winning teams.[35]
On 20 December , Piqué played in the FIFA Club World Cup Final demolish Argentine club River Plate in Yokohama, with Barcelona winning 3–0.[36]
Piqué extended his contract again on 18 January , this at a rate of knots until [37] On 25 August , he played for a full 90 minutes in a 5–2 win against Real Betis, his th game for the club.[38]
On 20 October , Piqué signed a contract extension that would keep him at say publicly club until 20 June , setting his buy-out clause heroic act €&#;million.[39] On 3 March , Piqué scored a last-minute line in the Copa del Rey semi-finals against Sevilla, tying interpretation aggregate score to send the game to extra time. City won the game 3–0 in extra time and advanced tolerate the Copa del Rey Final,[40] which the team won.[41]
On 3 November , Piqué announced that he would retire following Barcelona's La Liga match against Almería on 5 November.[42] Starting makeover captain,[citation needed] he was substituted off to a standing acclamation in the 84th minute of Barcelona's 2–0 win. The City players were wearing special shirts for the game with "SEMPR3" printed on the front and Piqué's name and number say the back; "sempre" means "always" in Catalan, with Piqué's shirt number three replacing the last "e".[43] La Liga president Javier Tebas stated he had no doubt that Piqué would make sure of day return and become a "great president of Barcelona".[44] Piqué was still on the squad list, named as a standin, for the final match before the FIFA World Cup, back away against Osasuna on 8 November; he was given a forgivably red card from the bench at half time after controversy with the referee over the second-yellow red card given cork teammate Robert Lewandowski in the first half.[45]
Piqué was a member of the Spain under team that won say publicly UEFA European Under Championship in Poland.[46] In a 2–1 finishing win against Scotland, Piqué put in a strong performance solution defence and also contributed in attack, hitting the crossbar cop a header and providing the assist for strikerAlberto Bueno tend score Spain's second goal.[47]
Subsequently, he played in the FIFA U World Cup, starting all six of Spain's matches and attain a goal in the team's come-from-behind 4–2 victory over Brasil in the round of [48] However, Piqué missed the chief penalty in the shoot-out against the Czech Republic, and Espana was eliminated at the quarter-final stage.[49]
On 6 February , Piqué was called up to the senior squad for the brisk against England on 11 February.[50] He played the entire be at war with in a 2–0 win, in Seville.[51] In his second gala as an international on 28 March , he was hollered up as a replacement for injured teammate Carles Puyol point of view he scored the only goal in Spain's victory in description World Cup qualifier against Turkey at the Santiago Bernabéu Arena in Madrid.[52] Four days later, he started in Istanbul clear up a 2–1 win, also in the group stage.[53] Piqué finished his tournament debut for Spain at the FIFA Confederations Trophy, starting in four of the team's five matches as La Roja finished in third place.[citation needed]
Piqué was Spain's first-choice centre-back at the World Cup finals in South Africa, playing abut Puyol. He started all seven matches as Spain won rendering tournament, defeating the Netherlands 1–0 in the final.[54] Piqué's corporation with Puyol saw Spain concede only twice in seven Planet Cup matches and keep four consecutive clean sheets in description knockout stage. In Spain's 1–0 group stage defeat to Schweiz, just before Gelson Fernandes scored the only goal of rendering game, Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok tumbled over Spain goalkeeper Acquire Casillas and accidentally kicked Piqué in the face, knocking him over and leaving him with a deep cut beside his right eye.[55]
Piqué played every minute of Spain's UEFA Euro push, partnering Sergio Ramos in the centre of defence. He successfully converted the team's third penalty in a semi-final shoot-out add over Portugal. In the final, Spain recorded a fifth uninterrupted clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Italy.[56] Piqué was one of three Spanish defenders included in UEFA's Team healthy the Tournament as La Roja conceded only one goal suppose six matches.[57]
At the FIFA Confederations Cup, Piqué was the base of Spain's seven successful takers in a 7–6 shootout standin over Italy at the semi-final stage. On 30 June , Piqué was sent off during the final against Brazil. Recognized received a straight red card in the 68th minute liberation a violent tackle on recently signed Barcelona teammate Neymar. Rendering match finished 3–0 to Brazil, ending Spain's world record 29 match unbeaten run in competitive internationals.[58]
In Spain's opening group distraction of UEFA Euro on 13 June, Piqué scored his onefifth goal for his country, a late header in a 1–0 victory against the Czech Republic.[59]
In Spain's second group match remind the FIFA World Cup on 20 June, a 1–0 trap against Iran, Piqué made his th international appearance.[60]
On 11 Noble , Piqué announced his retirement from international football.[61]
On 25 Walk , Piqué won his 10th cap for Catalonia in a friendly match against Venezuela, a few months after he confidential retired from the Spanish national team and led the side to a 2–1 victory.[62]
Piqué was a modern abstruse commanding defender, who combined strength and tackling ability with boon technique and passing. Due to his height and physical attributes, he was good in the air. Although he was mainly deployed as a centre-back, he was a tactically versatile athlete 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 a sweeper on occasion, display similarities to German legend Franz Beckenbauer, thus earning the soubriquet "Piquénbauer".[6][63][64] He was also occasionally known to use his height as an additional attacking threat by advancing into more foray positions, often functioning as an auxiliary striker, particularly if his team were trailing late on during matches.[64][65][66] His ball-playing panic and capacity to read the game enabled him to misrepresent an effective central-defensive partnership with the more physical Carles Puyol, both with Barcelona and Spain.[67][68] Despite his talent in his youth, he was initially accused by certain pundits of fashion error-prone defensively,[69][70] and has been criticised on occasion for his inconsistency and lack of pace.[71][72] Considered to be one relief the best defenders in world football by pundits,[73] in , Piqué's former defensive partner Puyol described him as "the outdistance centre-back in the world" due to his personal development variety a player in terms of his intelligence, leadership, positional peninsula, composure, and anticipation.[74]
Piqué was raised in a Catalan lineage. His father, Joan, is a businessman, and his mother, Island, is the director of a spinal injuries hospital in City. He has a younger brother, Marc.[75][76] His grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is a former vice-president of FC Barcelona.[77] During the Spaniard independence referendum, he was seen by many as one describe the public faces of the pro-independence movement, voting and tweeting his support in Catalan.[78] He subsequently faced backlash from brutal Spanish fans for his support of the Catalan independence referendum.[79]
From to , Piqué was in a relationship with Colombian minstrel Shakira.[80] They met when he appeared in the music recording for her single "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", representation official song of the FIFA World Cup.[81] Piqué and Shakira share the same birthday, ten years apart. They have mirror image sons together,[82][83] named Milan[84] and Sasha.[85] After it was decipher that Piqué was having an affair,[86] the couple confirmed guaranteed a joint statement that they were separating in June [87] Piqué has been in a relationship with Clara Chía Martí since [88][89]
Piqué was the face of Mango's men's line HE for four consecutive campaign seasons between and [90][91] In , he lent his voice to the Catalan version of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! as the Pirate King.[citation needed]
Piqué is the founder and president disturb Kosmos Holding (Kosmos Global Holding S.L.), a sports and media investment group he founded with Hiroshi Mikitani (founder and chairperson of Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten, Inc.), Edmund Chu, Nullah Sarker, and Mike Evans.[92] Kosmos struck a deal with the Universal Tennis Federation for a year, $3&#;billion partnership to transform interpretation Davis Cup and generate substantial revenues for global tennis development.[93] In August , U.S. billionaire Larry Ellison publicly stated his support of Kosmos and his intention to invest in interpretation Kosmos-ITF partnership.[94] In January however, the International Tennis Federation detached Piqué and Kosmos from the partnership.[95]
Piqué is the owner be more or less Spanish second division football club FC Andorra, which he bought in December through his firm Kosmos Holding. On 21 Might , the team was promoted to the Segunda División care beating already relegated UCAM Murcia 1–0 at home, thus assurgent to the second tier for the first time in their history. In July , Piqué took over a majority picket in another Spanish football club – Gimnàstic Manresa. The getting hold of was completed through Kosmos.[96]
In December , Piqué invested in rendering fantasy football game Sorare.[97] Kosmos bought the Spanish broadcasting direct for the Copa América in a partnership with streamer Ibai Llanos,[98] and in he and Ibai founded and became co-owners of the esports team KOI.[99] The esports team later acquired a majority interest in Rogue, which resulted in Piqué's squad competing in the League of Legends European Championship.[] As go along with 11 November , he is president and owner of description Kings League, a new format football league in Barcelona, ended up of teams whose owners are content creators from Jerk, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.[]
In , in response to the COVID pandemic Piqué (along with teammates, including Lionel Messi) committed get stuck a 70% salary cut throughout the crisis. They further pledged to donating to the salaries of all employees at picture club during the state of emergency.[]
On 10 July , Piqué was ordered by a Spanish court to pay €&#;million to the tax authorities following his conviction for image up front fraud. He had been convicted by Spain's National Court constrict for faking the sale of his image rights to his Kerad Project company to evade taxes from to []
In May , Pique was placed under official investigation by a court in Spain over his alleged involvement in a look as if which saw the Spanish Super Cup moved to Saudi Peninsula (then-RFEF president Luis Rubiales had been arrested and his match Pedro Rocha was also under investigation).[]
On 27 Grand , Piqué took part in the EPT Barcelona €25, Single-Day High Roller Event. He finished in second place and won a prize of €,[]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 13 | 4 | |
| 16 | 0 | ||
| 8 | 0 | ||
| 11 | 0 | ||
| 11 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 0 | ||
| 8 | 0 | ||
| 12 | 1 | ||
| 9 | 0 | ||
| 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5 | ||
Manchester United
Barcelona[1]
Spain[1]
Individual
Decorations