A renowned Spanish professional footballer, Gerard Pique net worth is $80 million. He is a long-standing defender for Barcelona FC. Pique has lived a plenty of amazing moments while playing soccer career.
Gerard has also been the vital part of the Spanish National team. He was also a part of the team that won the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Euro Cup.
Early life of Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique Bernabeu was born on 02nd February, 1987 in Barcelona, Spain. Bought up in a Catalan family, Gerard has a strong connection from a very young age with the local culture and Barcelona FC. His grandfather served as the vice-president in Barcelona FC.
Largely because of his family’s strong connection with the Catalan culture, he was quite supportive of the prospect of Catalan independence during the 2017 referendum. And this made him a controversial figure in Spanish football, with some fans criticizing his political opinion.
Gerard started his football career with FC Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia, playing as a defensive midfielder. But before he was offered a professional contract with his hometown club, he made an important move to Manchester United in 2004 on a free transfer.
Gerard’s Professional Career
Initially Gerard started playing for Manchester United in 2004. For the next few years, he often appeared as a substitute and use to replace teammates of the first team who were injured.
In spite of this, his performances were strong enough to earn him a new contract. During a one-season loan to Real Zaragoza in La Liga, Pique had earned valuable experience before returning to Manchester United in 2007.
His first break came in 2008 when Barcelona FC showed interest in bringing him back to Spain. Pique made the change for a transfer of 5 million pound. After his come back in Barcelona, Pique quickly established himself as a main player, contributing both defensively and offensively.
His first season back saw him help the team win the Copa del Rey, and he played an important role in Barcelona’s victory over Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final.
Pique then went to enjoy more success with Barcelona, winning another Champions League title in 2011 by once again winning against Manchester United.
By 2014, Pique has got the contract extension with the club which helped him to stay at Barca till 2019. In 2015, he won his third champions league title with Barcelona, becoming one of only eight players to win twice with the same club.
But then Pique’s career faced a decline in 2020 when Barcelona suffered a humiliating 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final and in the same year they also lost the league title to Real Madrid.
Pique acknowledged the club’s downfall and showed his willingness to step aside to allow a new generation of players to take over. And then the speculations started that whether he will stay or not at Barcelona FC.
Personal Life
Gerard Pique met Colombian pop star Shakira in 2010 when he filmed the music video for her World song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”. After that they started dating each other in 2011, and later they had two children before getting split up in June 2022.
Conclusion
Seeing the international tournaments of Pique, he first played for Spain in 2009 and was a vital player in their World Cup winning squad in 2010, playing along with Carles Puyol.
He continued to be an important part of the national team, helping Spain win the 2012 Euro Cup. He then decided to get retired from international football in 2019.
Gerard Pique’s professional and personal life are proof to his influence both on and off the pitch, making him one of the celebrated figures in football history.
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