Gerard Pique was denied the chance to make a final appearance Barcelona on Tuesday after being sent off for launching an X-rated rant at referee Jesus Gil Manzano.
The Spaniard's career ended miserably, as he was dismissed from the bench in the 2-1 win at Osasuna. He announced his retirement earlier this month and Tuesday's game was meant to be his final one, as LaLiga will now pause for the World Cup.
Having bid an emotional farewell to the Barcelona fans during Saturday's 2-0 home win over Almeria, Tuesday's trip to Osasuna was touted to be the last time Pique would don the shirt before his retirement. However, things didn't play out as expected.
Boss Xavi opted to start Pique on the bench, with a view to bringing him on late on as a last hurrah. Instead, the centre-back was sent off before Xavi had the chance after he was dismissed for dissent while following the referee down the tunnel at half-time.
As quoted by Football Espana, Pique allegedly told Manzano: "Did you see the corner you gave against us? You are the referee that has f***** us over the most by a distance... It is a f****** disgrace. "F*** your mother."
After the red card was shown, Pique reportedly asked Manzano: "But do you realise who you sent off?"
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Xavi Hernandez confirmed he was going to bring on Pique before he was dismissed. "I was going to bring him on, yes," the Barcelona manager told reporters at full-time. "We knew that Andreas [Christensen] was coming back from injury, that he lacked a bit of rhythm.
"Eric Garcia was feeling pain... So Gerard was left and we thought we’d play him, yes. But they sent him off at half-time. It was the result of the tension of the moment. We felt injustice, hence Gerard’s reaction."
It was Barcelona's second red card of the first half, as Robert Lewandowski was also sent off 15 minutes before Pique for a stray elbow while attempting to win the ball in the air.
Neither of the dismissals deterred Xavi's men from the job at hand, with a late Raphinha goal handing Barcelona a vital win on the road. The result puts them at the top of the LaLiga table - with a five point advantage over arch-enemies Real Madrid in second.
Los Blancos fell to their first defeat of the season on Monday when they were on the wrong end of a 3-2 result at Rayo Vallecano. With that being said, Carlo Ancelotti's champions still have a game in hand on the new league leaders.
Pique issued an emotional statement to the Barcelona faithful confirming his imminent exit last week, explaining: " It’s been 25 years since I joined Barca. I left and came back. Football has given me everything.
"Barca has given me everything. You, culers, have given me everything. And now that all that kid’s dreams have come true, I want to tell you that I’ve decided that now is the time to bring this journey to its end.
"I’ve always said there would not be any other team after Barça. And that’s how it will be. This Saturday's game will be my last at Camp Nou. I will become a regular fan. I will support the team. I will pass my love for Barca to my children, like my family did with me."
