Gerard Piqué

Gerard Piqué

Gerard Piqué playing for Spain at Euro 2012
Personal information
Full name	Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu
Date of birth	(1987-02-02) 2 February 1987
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Barcelona
Number	3
Youth career
1997–2004	Barcelona
2004–2005	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2008	Manchester United	12	(0)
2006–2007	→ Real Zaragoza (loan)	22	(2)
2008–	Barcelona	170	(12)
International career‡
2002–2003	Spain U16	7	(2)
2004	Spain U17	8	(3)
2006	Spain U19	8	(3)
2007	Spain U20	5	(1)
2006–2008	Spain U21	12	(1)
2009–	Spain	63	(4)
2004–	Catalonia	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 October 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 June 2014

Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu (Catalan: [ʒəˈɾar piˈke j βərnəˈβew], Spanish: [ʝeˈɾar piˈke i βernaˈβeu]; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for FC Barcelona and the Spain national team.

A product of Barça's cantera, La Masia, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Pep Guardiola's leadership, helping the club become the first ever to complete a Sextuple. Piqué is one of 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.

Piqué has also represented Spain, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role in the Spain team that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.

Club career

Early career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Piqué started his career in FC Barcelona's youth teams as a defensive midfielder, but before he signed his first professional contract with the club, he decided to join Manchester United. The Premier League side did not pay a fee for Piqué as he was too young to have a professional contract.

Manchester United

Piqué made his debut for Manchester United in October 2004, as a late replacement for John O'Shea in a 3–0 League Cup victory at Crewe Alexandra as a centre-back. He made his full debut on 29 March 2006 against West Ham United, in a Premier League match at Old Trafford, playing at right-back, as Gary Neville was unavailable through injury.

His performances, most notably in the reserve team, earned him a new contract, which he signed in February 2005 to run until the summer of 2009. On 4 August 2006, however, La Liga side Real Zaragoza secured Piqué on a season-long loan. The conditions of the loan involved Piqué having to feature in at least 20 games for the Aragonese outfit, which he did, as he made 22 first team appearances in a successful spell, alongside Argentine Gabriel Milito, either as a stopper or a holding midfielder.

On 5 May 2007, it was announced that Piqué would be staying at Old Trafford for the following season. Sir Alex Ferguson had intended to assess Piqué's form at La Romareda on 6 May, prior to a meeting where the two parties would discuss Piqué's future prospects with the club. However, Ferguson was unable to attend on account of airline difficulties.

Piqué's return to Old Trafford saw him make nine league appearances during the 2007–08 season. He scored on his first start in the Champions League, a 4–0 home win against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007, as Piqué scored the first of Manchester United's four goals in that match. In doing so, he became the 450th player to score at least one goal for the club. His second goal for the club also came in the Champions League, in an away match to Roma on 12 December 2007.

Return to Barcelona

Piqué during the 2008 Joan Gamper Trophy.

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

"I am very happy to be back, I didn't think I would be here again but this is very good for me. Manchester United is a great club and I enjoyed winning things. To play with world class 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 Champions League group stage win at Sporting CP on 26 November 2008. His first domestic goal for the club followed two months later, on 29 January 2009, in a Copa del Rey match 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. On 2 May 2009, Piqué scored Barcelona's sixth goal in a 6–2 El Clásico win against Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

Piqué after Barcelona's triumph in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final

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. Three days later, Barcelona clinched the league title after Real Madrid lost 3–2 to Villarreal, with two games left in the season.

On 27 May 2009, Piqué played against his former club Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final, which Barcelona won 2–0, completing an historic treble.

Piqué playing for Barcelona during the 2012–13 season

On 19 December 2009, Piqué was in the Barcelona team which beat Argentine club Estudiantes 2–1 in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup Final. Piqué assisted Pedro Rodríguez's 89th minute equalising goal which took the match to extra-time.

On 26 February 2010, Piqué signed a contract extension to keep him at Barcelona until at least summer 2015. On 28 April 2010, Piqué scored in Barcelona's Champions League semi-final second leg against Internazionale, though his side went out 3–2 on aggregate.

On 28 May 2011, Piqué played in his second Champions League Final. Barça defeated Manchester United 3–1 at Wembley Stadium to lift the European Cup for the second time in three seasons. On 1 May 2013, Piqué scored an own goal for FC Bayern Munich in Camp Nou which made score 0–2 in favour of Bayern. Later Bayern went on to win 0–3 and 7–0 on aggregate.

On 20 May 2014, Piqué signed a contract extension with Barcelona, keeping him at the club until 2019.

International career

Youth teams

Piqué in the Palacio de la Moncloa for Spain's 2010 FIFA World Cup celebrations

Piqué was a member of the Spain under-19 side that won the 2006 U-19 European Championship in Poland. In a 2–1 final win against Scotland, Piqué put in a strong performance in defence, hitting the crossbar with a header, and also providing his team's second goal for striker Alberto Bueno.

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. However, Piqué missed the deciding penalty against the Czech Republic and Spain were eliminated at the quarter-final stage.

Senior side

Piqué (back row, second right) lining up for the Catalonia national team against Nigeria

On 6 February 2009, Piqué was called up to the senior squad for the friendly against England on 11 February. He played the entire match in a 2–0 win, in Seville. In his second match as an international on 28 March 2009, he was called up as a replacement for injured team-mate Carles Puyol and he scored the only goal in Spain's victory in the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Turkey at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Four days later, he also started in Istanbul in a 2–1 win, also in the group stage.

Piqué made his tournament debut for Spain at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, starting in four of the team's five matches as La Roja finished in third place.

Piqué was Spain's first-choice centre-back playing alongside Puyol at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, starting all seven matches as Spain won the tournament, defeating the Netherlands 1–0 in the final. Piqué's partnership with Puyol saw Spain concede only twice in seven World Cup matches and keep four consecutive clean sheets in the knockout stage. In Spain's 1–0 group stage defeat to Switzerland, just before Gelson Fernandes scored the only goal of the game, Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok tumbled over Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas and accidentally kicked Piqué in the face, knocking him over and leaving him with a nasty cut beside his right eye.

Piqué played every minute of Spain's UEFA Euro 2012 campaign, partnering Sergio Ramos in the centre of defence. He successfully converted the team's third penalty in a semi-final shootout win over Portugal. In the final, Spain recorded a fifth consecutive clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Italy. Piqué was one of three Spanish defenders included in UEFA's Team of the Tournament as La Roja conceded only one goal in six matches.

At the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, Piqué was the third of Spain's seven successful takers in a 7–6 shootout win over Italy at the semi-final stage. On 30 June 2013, Piqué was sent off during the final against Brazil. He received a straight red card in the 68th minute for a violent tackle on recently signed Barcelona team-mate Neymar. The match finished 3–0 to Brazil, ending Spain's world record 29 match unbeaten run in competitive internationals.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 October 2014

Club	Season	League		National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United	2004–05	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
	2005–06	3	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Zaragoza (loan)	2006–07	22	2	6	1	–		0	0	0	0	28	3
	Total	22	2	6	1	–		0	0	0	0	28	3
Manchester United	2007–08	9	0	0	0	1	0	3	2	0	0	13	2
	Total	12	0	3	0	4	0	4	2	0	0	23	2
Barcelona	2008–09	25	1	6	1	–		14	1	0	0	45	3
	2009–10	32	2	1	0	–		11	2	5	0	49	4
	2010–11	31	3	7	0	–		12	1	1	0	51	4
	2011–12	22	2	8	0	–		5	0	3	0	38	2
	2012–13	28	2	4	1	–		10	0	2	0	44	3
	2013–14	26	2	2	0	–		9	2	2	0	39	4
	2014–15	6	0	0	0	–		2	1	0	0	8	1
	Total	170	12	28	2	–		63	7	13	0	274	21
Career total		204	14	37	3	4	0	66	9	13	0	325	26

International

As of match played 12 October 2014

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Spain	2009	13	4
	2010	16	0
	2011	8	0
	2012	11	0
	2013	9	0
	2014	6	0
Total		63	4

Personal life

Piqué was raised in a Catalan family. His father, Joan, is a business man, and his mother, Montserrat, is the director of a prestigious spinal injuries hospital in Barcelona. He has a younger brother named Marc. His grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is a former vice-president of FC Barcelona.

Since Spring 2010, Piqué has been in a relationship with Colombian singer Shakira. They share the same birthday but she is ten years his senior. They met when Piqué was featured in the music video for Shakira's song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. After months of media speculation, Shakira officially confirmed the relationship in March 2011 via Twitter and Facebook by posting a picture of the two with a caption reading, "I present to you my sunshine" in Spanish.

Shakira told E! Online "He's very territorial, and since he no longer lets me do videos with men, well, I have to do them with women."

In September 2012, Shakira announced that she and Piqué were expecting their first child together. Their son, Milan Piqué Mebarak, was born on 22 January 2013 in Barcelona, Spain.

In late 2014, Shakira announced that she is pregnant with a second son with Pique.

Pique uses Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ to communicate with his fans and friends across the world. He is very good friends with fellow club colleague Carles Puyol and former teammates Rio Ferdinand and Bojan Krkić. Piqué has known his best friend Cesc Fàbregas since childhood.

Piqué was chosen to be the face of Mango men's line HE for four consecutive campaign seasons, autumn-winter 2012/13.

In 2012, Piqué lent his voice to the Catalan version of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! as the Pirate King.

Honours

Club

Manchester United

• Premier League: 2007–08
• FA Community Shield: 2007
• UEFA Champions League: 2007–08

Barcelona

• La Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13
• Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12; Runner-up 2010–11, 2013–14
• Supercopa de España: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013; Runner-up 2012
• UEFA Champions League: 2008–09, 2010–11
• UEFA Super Cup: 2009
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011

International

Piqué with the UEFA European Championships trophy in 2012

Spain

• FIFA World Cup: 2010
• UEFA European Championship: 2012
• UEFA U-19 European Championship: 2006

Individual

• La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2009
• La Liga Best Defender: 2010
• FIFA/FIFPro World XI: 2010, 2011, 2012
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012
• ESM Team of the Year: 2011, 2014
• UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2012

Decorations

• Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit: 2011

External links

• FC Barcelona official profile
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data
• Gerard Piqué at Soccerbase
• Profile StretfordEnd.co.uk
• ESPN Profile
• 2010 FIFA World Cup profile
• Gerard Piqué – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Gerard Piqué – UEFA competition record (archive)