Gerard Piqué

spanish association football musician

Piqué and the second or maternal family name is Bernabeu. In this spanish name, the first or paternal surname isand the second or maternal syndicate name is

Reading: Gerard Piqué

Gerard Piqué Bernabeu ( Catalan : [ ʒəˈɾaɾt piˈke βəɾnəˈβew ], spanish : [ ɟʝeˈɾaɾ piˈke βeɾnaˈβew ] ; born 2 February 1987 ) is a spanish professional football player who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Barcelona. He is considered one of the best defenders of his coevals. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] primitively one of the most promise students at La Masia, Piqué joined the Manchester United academy in 2004. He returned to Barcelona in 2008 under Pep Guardiola ‘s leadership and helped the club acquire trebles in 2008–09 and 2014–15. He is one of only four players to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto’o. [ 7 ] Piqué has besides represented Spain 102 times, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an built-in function in the Spain teams that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He retired from the national team after the 2018 FIFA World Cup .

Club career [edit ]

early career [edit ]

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, [ 3 ] Piqué started his career in FC Barcelona ‘s youth teams as a defensive midfielder, but before he signed his first professional contract with the baseball club, he decided to join Manchester United. The Premier League cabaret did not pay a fee for Piqué as he was excessively new to have a professional narrow. [ citation needed ] [ 8 ]

manchester United [edit ]

Piqué made his introduction for Manchester United in October 2004, as a centre-back, a 67th infinitesimal successor for John O’Shea in a 3–0 League Cup victory at Crewe Alexandra. [ 9 ] He made his entire debut in January 2005 in a 0–0 FA Cup guide with Exeter City. Pique made his Premier League introduction on 15 October 2005, again as a alternate for O’Shea, in a 3–1 win over Sunderland. His beginning league begin came on 29 March 2006 against West Ham United at Old Trafford, playing at right-back, as Gary Neville was unavailable through wound. [ 10 ] His performances, most notably in the reservation team, earned him a new abridge, which he signed in February 2005, to run until the summer of 2009. On 4 August 2006, however, La Liga club Real Zaragoza secured Piqué on a season-long loan. The conditions of the lend involved Piqué having to feature in at least 20 games for the Aragonese club, [ 11 ] which he did, as he made 22 first team appearances in a successful while, aboard Argentine Gabriel Milito, either as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder. [ citation needed ] On 5 May 2007, it was announced that Piqué would be staying at Old Trafford for the come season. Sir Alex Ferguson had intended to assess Piqué ‘s form at La Romareda on 6 May, prior to a meet where the two parties would discuss Piqué ‘s future prospects with the club. however, Ferguson was unable to attend on account of airline difficulties. [ 12 ] Piqué ‘s hark back to Old Trafford saw him make nine league appearances during the 2007–08 season. In his first startle in the UEFA Champions League, a 4–0 home plate winnings against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007, Piqué scored the first of Manchester United ‘s four goals in that match. [ 13 ] In doing so, he became the 450th player to score at least one goal for the baseball club. [ 14 ] His moment goal for the baseball club besides came in the Champions League, in an away match to Roma on 12 December 2007. [ 15 ]

revert to Barcelona [edit ]

On 27 May 2008, Piqué signed a four-year compress with Barcelona, with a €5 million buy-out clause. [ 16 ] Barcelona paid a £5 million fee for the actor. [ 17 ] He expressed his joy at re-signing with his boyhood club, although he admitted he had enjoyed his spell at Manchester United :

I am identical happy to be back, I did n’t think I would be hera again but this is identical adept for me. Manchester United is a big club and I enjoyed winning things. To play with earth classify players has helped me and now I want to continue this at Barça .

Piqué ‘s first goal for Barcelona came in the club ‘s 5–2 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stagecoach win at Sporting CP on 26 November 2008. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] His beginning domestic goal for the club followed two months late, on 29 January 2009, in a Copa del Rey couple against local rivals Espanyol. The 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. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] On 2 May 2009, Piqué scored Barcelona ‘s sixth finish in a 6–2 El Clásico acquire against real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, which saw him produce a passionate goal celebration where he grabbed his Barcelona jersey. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] On 13 May 2009, he picked up the first trophy of his Barcelona career as he helped his club to a 4–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey Final. [ 24 ] Three days later, Barcelona clinched the 2008–09 La Liga deed after Real Madrid lost 3–2 to Villarreal, with two games left in the season. [ 25 ]
Piqué warming up for Barcelona in 2014 On 27 May 2009, Piqué played against his former club Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final, which Barcelona won 2–0 in Rome, [ 26 ] completing a historic ternary and becoming the beginning spanish club to achieve this feat. [ 27 ] On 19 December 2009, Piqué was in the Barcelona team which beat Argentine baseball club Estudiantes 2–1 in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup Final at Abu Dhabi to complete an unprecedented sextuple. Piqué assisted Pedro ‘s 89th minute equalising finish which took the pit to extra-time. [ 28 ] On 26 February 2010, Piqué signed a contract extension to keep him at Barcelona until at least summer 2015. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] On 28 April 2010, Piqué scored in Barcelona ‘s 1–0 Champions League semi-final second base leg victory against Inter Milan, though his team went out 3–2 on aggregate. [ 31 ] On 7 December 2010, Piqué captained his first match for Barcelona, a 5–0 victory against russian club Rubin Kazan at Camp Nou in the last Champions League group stage catch, in absence of regular captain Carles Puyol and vice-captain Xavi. [ 32 ] On 28 May 2011, Piqué played in his second gear Champions League Final. Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3–1 at Wembley Stadium to lift the UEFA Champions League for the second time in three seasons. [ 33 ] On 18 December 2011, Piqué started in Barcelona ‘s 4–0 victory against brazilian club Santos in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final at Yokohama. [ 34 ] On 1 May 2013, Piqué scored an own finish for Bayern Munich in Camp Nou, making the score 2–0 to Bayern. Bayern went on to win 3–0 and 7–0 on aggregate. [ 35 ] On 20 May 2014, Piqué signed a abridge extension with Barcelona, keeping him at the baseball club until 2019. [ 36 ] On 6 June 2015, Piqué started for Barça in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, as the club won its fifth european Cup/Champions League title by beating Juventus 3–1 at Berlin ‘s Olympiastadion. [ 37 ] This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the soprano of domestic league, domestic cup and european Cup twice. [ 38 ] Piqué, Xavi, Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Dani Alves and Pedro are the only players to have been a part of both treble-winning teams. [ 38 ] On 20 December 2015, Piqué played in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final against Argentine clubhouse River Plate in Yokohama, with Barcelona winning 3–0. [ 39 ] On 18 January 2018, Piqué extended his contract again, this time until 2022. [ 40 ] On 25 August 2019, he played wide 90 minutes in a 5–2 succeed against Real Betis, his five-hundredth bet on for the club. [ 41 ] On 20 October 2020, Piqué signed a sign propagation that would keep him at the club public treasury 20 June 2024, setting his buy-out clause at €500 million. [ 42 ] On 3 March 2021, Piqué scored a last-minute heading goal in the Copa del Rey semifinals against Sevilla, tying the aggregate score to send the game to extra fourth dimension ; Barcelona won the game 3-0 a.e.t. and advanced to the 2021 Copa del Rey Final. [ 43 ] which the team won. [ 44 ]

International career [edit ]

youth teams [edit ]

Piqué was a penis of the Spain under-19 team that won the 2006 UEFA european Under-19 Championship in Poland. [ 45 ] In a 2–1 final win against Scotland, Piqué put in a hard performance in defense and besides contributed in approach, hitting the crossbar with a heading and providing the aid for striker Alberto Bueno to score Spain ‘s second goal. [ 46 ] subsequently, he played in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting all six of Spain ‘s matches and scoring a goal in the team ‘s come-from-behind 4–2 victory over Brazil in the round of 16. [ 47 ] however, Piqué missed the deciding penalty in the shoot-out against the Czech Republic, and Spain were eliminated at the quarter-final stage. [ 48 ]

aged side [edit ]

On 6 February 2009, Piqué was called up to the senior team for the friendly against England on 11 February. [ 49 ] He played the entire match in a 2–0 win, in Seville. [ 50 ] In his second match as an international on 28 March 2009, he was called up as a surrogate for injure teammate Carles Puyol and he scored the only goal in Spain ‘s victory in the 2010 World Cup modifier against Turkey at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. [ 51 ] Four days later, he besides started in Istanbul in a 2–1 gain, besides in the group stage. [ 52 ]

style of play [edit ]

Piqué is a mod and commanding defender, who combines military capability and tackling ability with good proficiency and excrete. due to his acme and physical attributes, he is good in the air. Although he is primarily deployed as a centre-back, he is a tactically versatile player who is capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, a position in which he was initially deployed in his youth ; he has besides been deployed as a carpet sweeper on juncture, showing similarities to german caption, Franz Beckenbauer, thus earning the nickname “ Piquénbauer ”. [ 8 ] [ 60 ] [ 61 ] He has besides occasionally been known to use his acme as an extra assaultive menace by advancing into more nauseating positions, frequently functioning as an aide hitter, in particular if his team are trailing recently on during matches. [ 61 ] [ 62 ] [ 63 ] His ball-playing ability and capacitance to read the game enabled him to form an effective central-defensive partnership with the more physical Carles Puyol, both with Barcelona and Spain. [ 64 ] [ 65 ] Despite his endowment in his youth however, he was besides initially accused by certain pundits of being erring defensively, [ 66 ] [ 67 ] and has been criticised on occasion for his inconsistency and lack of pace. [ 68 ] [ 69 ] Considered to be one of the best defenders in world football by pundits, [ 70 ] in 2018, his former defensive partner Puyol described Piqué as “ the best centre-back in the world, ” ascribable to his personal development as a player in terms of his news, leadership, positional feel, composure, and anticipation. [ 71 ]

personal life [edit ]

Piqué was raised in a Catalan family. His father, Joan, is a businessman, and his mother, Montserrat, is the film director of a spinal injuries hospital in Barcelona. He has a younger buddy, Marc. [ 72 ] [ 73 ] His grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is a former vice-president of Barcelona. [ 74 ] During the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, he was seen by many as one of the public faces of the pro-independence side of the argument, vote and tweeting his defend in Catalan. [ 75 ] He subsequently faced recoil from some spanish fans for his support of the Catalan independence referendum. [ 76 ] Since early 2011, Piqué has been in a relationship with colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. [ 77 ] They met when he appeared in the music video for her single “ Waka Waka ( This time for Africa ) “, the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. [ 78 ] Piqué and Shakira share the like birthday, ten years apart. The couple have two children. [ 79 ] [ 80 ] Piqué was the face of Mango ‘s men ‘s line HE for four consecutive campaign seasons between 2011 and 2012. [ 81 ] [ 82 ] [ 83 ] In 2012, he lent his voice to the Catalan version of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! as the Pirate King. [ 84 ]

Media and clientele interests [edit ]

Piqué is the founder and president of Kosmos Holding, a sports and media investment group he started with Hiroshi Mikitani ( founder and president of japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten, Inc. ), Edmund Chu, Nullah Sarker and Mike Evans. [ 85 ] Kosmos has struck a partnership with the International Tennis Federation for a 25-year, $ 3 billion partnership that will transform the Davis Cup and generate substantial revenues for ball-shaped tennis growth. [ 86 ] In August 2018, U.S. billionaire Larry Ellison published a public letter stating that he is joining the Kosmos group. [ 87 ] In December 2018, through his tauten Kosmos Holding, Piqué bought spanish football club FC Andorra. The club presently competes in the Primera División RFEF, the third gear tier in spanish football league system. [ 88 ] [ 89 ] [ contradictory ] In July 2019, Piqué took over a majority stake in another spanish football club – Gimnàstic Manresa. The consider over was besides completed using his tauten Kosmos Holding. [ 90 ] In December 2020, Piqué invested in the fantasy football game Sorare. [ 91 ] Kosmos bought the Spanish broadcast medium rights for the 2021 Copa América under a partnership with pennant Ibai Llanos. [ 92 ]

philanthropy [edit ]

In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic Piqué along with teammates including Lionel Messi committed to a 70 % pay cut in their salaries during the crisis. They promote committed to donating towards the salaries of all employees at the cabaret during the state of emergency. [ 93 ]

tax fraud [edit ]

On 10 July 2019, Piqué was ordered by a spanish court to pay €2.1 million to the tax authorities following his conviction for visualize rights fraud. The defender pretended to hand over his image rights to his Kerad Project company in order to pay less tax from 2008 to 2010. [ 94 ]

Poker tournament results [edit ]

On 27 August 2019, Piqué took region of EPT Barcelona €25,000 Single-Day High Roller Event. He finished in second stead and won a respect of €352,950. [ 95 ]

career statistics [edit ]

club [edit ]

As of match played 27 November 2021[96][97]

International [edit ]

As of match played 1 July 2018[112][113]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team
Year
Apps
Goals

Spain

2009
13
4

2010
16
0

2011
8
0

2012
11
0

2013
11
0

2014
6
0

2015
8
0

2016
12
1

2017
9
0

2018
8
0

Total
102
5

As of match played 6 October 2017. Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Piqué goal.[112]

Honours [edit ]

Manchester United
Barcelona [ 3 ]
Spain [ 3 ]
Individual
Decorations