Barcelona’s Gerard Pique drops bombshell with retirement announcement

Barcelona icon Gerard Pique has taken to social media on Thursday evening, to confirm his imminent retirement from the game.

The season, to date, has of course proven an altogether underwhelming one from stopper Pique’s perspective.

Amid the efforts of head coach and former teammate Xavi Hernandez to kick on into a new era at the Camp Nou, the one-time Manchester United talent has been afforded just a trio of La La starts.

This comes with Pique, when all options are fit and available for selection, now widely regarded as Barca’s 5th choice central defender, behind all of Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Eric Garcia.

And, evidently, such a role is in which the veteran, now 35, is no longer comfortable continuing in.

In turn, late on Thursday, Pique has moved to confirm his imminent departure from not only the Blaugrana’s ranks, but football as a whole.

In a post across his official social media platforms, the stopper - a treble winner at club level, and World Cup and European Championship victor on the international stage - announced that he is set to imminently hang up his boots.

Barcelona’s La Liga clash with Almeria this weekend will therefore represent Pique’s last at a ground he has called home since all the way back in 2008.

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