Barcelona manager Xavi has opened up about the private conversations he had with Gerard Pique before the defender's retirement announcement.
Xavi and Pique were team-mates for club and country for a number of years, winning the Champions League together at Barca and featuring in Spain's World Cup and European Championships successes. While Xavi hung up his boots in 2019, Pique has remained part of the furniture at Camp Nou.
Not for much longer, though. The centre-back has confirmed he will retire from football after the upcoming league game against Almeria, and it has emerged that player and manager held talks about the 35-year-old's future during the summer.
"Pique is a player who still has a contract and who could have continued at the club, so his gesture shows spectacular greatness," Xavi told reporters, as translated by Goal. "We had a private conversation at the beginning of the summer. I had to explain my intentions to him and it was one of the most difficult moments I’ve had to do as a coach.
"We heard about Pique’s decision this week. Surely I have had an important weight in making this decision, but the truth is that I have to make decisions and in many situations someone else played over Pique.
"For me it is not a relief that he is leaving now. It is a personal decision for him, due to the circumstances and due to the conversation we had in the summer. I’ve tried to be honest with Pique… The footballer always feels when you don’t play him, the coach is to be blamed."
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Pique started out in Barcelona's academy but left as a teenager without having played a senior game. He returned to Camp Nou in 2008 after four years with Manchester United and has gone on to play more than 600 times for the club.
However, the veteran has started just three games in LaLiga this season, with Barca bolstering their defensive ranks over the summer. New signing Jules Kounde and Spain international Eric Garcia started their last game, a 1-0 win at Valencia, with Pique replacing the former for the final 16 minutes.
A number of former team-mates have paid tribute to Pique since his retirement announcement. One of those ex-colleagues, Riqui Puig, appeared to question Barca's treatment of their long-serving player.
"Those of us who love and admire you are sad, not only because you are leaving the first team... but also because of the treatment you have received lately. Good luck and see you soon," wrote Puig, who came through Barcelona's famed La Masia academy but left for LA Galaxy earlier in 2022 after 60 Barca games.
