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Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (, ; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a highly promising student at La Masia, Piqué joined Manchester United in 2004. He returned to Barcelona in 2008 under Pep Guardiola's leadership and helped the club win trebles in 2008–09 and 2014–15. He is one of only four players to have won the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o. Piqué also represented
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
102 times, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role on the Spanish teams that won the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
and UEFA Euro 2012. He retired from the national team after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


Club career


Early career

Born in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
, Catalonia, Piqué started his career playing for 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 club 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 centre-back, a 67th minute replacement for John O'Shea in a 3–0 League Cup victory at Crewe Alexandra. He made his full debut in January 2005 in a 0–0
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
draw with Exeter City. Pique made his Premier League debut on 15 October 2005, again as a substitute for O'Shea, in a 3–1 win over
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. His first league start came on 29 March 2006 against West Ham United at Old Trafford, playing at right-back, as Gary Neville was unavailable due to 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 club Real Zaragoza secured Piqué on a season-long loan. The terms of the loan required Piqué to feature in at least 20 games for the Aragonese club, which he did, as he made 22 first team appearances in a successful spell, alongside Argentine
Gabriel Milito Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine former association football, footballer who played as a central defender, currently the Manager (association football), manager of Argentinos Juniors. He spent most of his professi ...
, either as a centre-back or a defensive 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 Estadio La Romareda is the home stadium of Real Zaragoza, in Zaragoza. It was inaugurated on 8 September 1957, with a game between Real Zaragoza and CA Osasuna (4–3). The official capacity is 33,608, with an average attendance of around 20,000 ...
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 because of airline difficulties. Piqué's return to Old Trafford saw him make nine league appearances during the 2007–08 season. In his first start in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
, a 4–0 home win against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007, 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 with
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
on 12 December 2007.


Return to Barcelona

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: Piqué's first goal for Barcelona came in the club's 5–2
2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage matches took place between 16 September and 10 December 2008. Seeding structure Seeding was determined by the UEFA coefficients#Club coefficient, UEFA coefficients: Pot 1 held teams ranked 1–10 (s ...
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 Santiago Bernabéu, which saw him produce a passionate goal celebration where he grabbed his Barcelona jersey. 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 2008–09 La Liga 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 The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was played on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match determined the winners of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, 2008–09 season of the UEFA Champions League, a tournament for the top ...
, which Barcelona won 2–0 in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, completing a historic
treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...
and becoming the first Spanish club to achieve this feat. 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 at Abu Dhabi to complete an unprecedented sextuple. Piqué assisted Pedro'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 1–0 Champions League semi-final second leg victory against
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
, though his team went out 3–2 on aggregate. 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 match, in the absence of regular captain
Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona. He mainly played as a central defender, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a ri ...
and vice-captain
Xavi Xavier Hernández Creus (born 25 January 1980), known as Xavi is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of La Liga club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely con ...
. On 28 May 2011, Piqué played in his second
Champions League Final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...
. Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3–1 at Wembley Stadium to lift the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
for the second time in three seasons. On 18 December 2011, Piqué started in Barcelona's 4–0 victory against Brazilian club Santos in the
2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final The 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final was the final match of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, an association football tournament hosted by Japan. It was the eighth final of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organized tournament between the winners of the ...
at Yokohama. On 1 May 2013, Piqué scored an own goal for Bayern Munich in Camp Nou, making the score 2–0 to Bayern. Bayern went on to win 3–0 and 7–0 in aggregate. On 20 May 2014, Piqué signed a contract extension with Barcelona, keeping him at the club until 2019. On 6 June 2015, Piqué started for Barça in the
2015 UEFA Champions League Final The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the 60th season of Europe's premier club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from ...
, as the club won its fifth European Cup/Champions League title by beating Juventus 3–1 at
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
's Olympiastadion. This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the
treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...
of domestic league, domestic cup, and European Cup twice. Piqué, Xavi,
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Dani Alves, and Pedro are the only players to have been a part of both treble-winning teams. On 20 December 2015, Piqué played in the
2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final The 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final was the final match of the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, an association football tournament hosted by Japan. It was the 12th final of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised tournament between the winners of the si ...
against Argentine club River Plate in Yokohama, with Barcelona winning 3–0. On 18 January 2018, Piqué extended his contract again, this time until 2022. On 25 August 2019, he played for a full 90 minutes in a 5–2 win against Real Betis, his 500th game for the club. On 20 October 2020, Piqué signed a contract extension that would keep him at the club until 20 June 2024, setting his buy-out clause at €500 million. On 3 March 2021, Piqué scored a last-minute header in the Copa del Rey semifinals against Sevilla, tying the aggregate score to send the game to extra time. Barcelona won the game 3–0 in extra time and advanced to the
2021 Copa del Rey Final The 2021 Copa del Rey Final was a football match that decided the winner of the 2020–21 Copa del Rey, the 119th edition of Spain's primary football cup (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). The match was played on 17 Apr ...
, which the team won. On 3 November 2022, Piqué announced that he would retire following Barcelona's La Liga match against Almería on 5 November. On 5 November 2022, Piqué played his last game at the Camp Nou, starting as captain. He was substituted off to a standing ovation in the 84th minute of Barcelona's 2–0 win against Almería. The Barça players were wearing special shirts for the game with "SEMPR3" printed on the front and Piqué's name and number on the back; "'' sempre''" means "always" in Catalan, with Piqué's shirt number three replacing the last "e". La Liga president Javier Tebas stated he had no doubt that Piqué would one day return and become a "great president of Barcelona." Piqué was still on the squad list, named as a substitute, for the final match before 2022 FIFA World Cup, away against Osasuna on 8 November; he was given a straight red card from the bench at half time after arguing with the referee over the second-yellow red card given to teammate Robert Lewandowski in the first half.


International career


Youth teams

Piqué was a member of the Spain under-19 team that won the
2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2006 Final Tournament was held in Poland between 18 July and 29 July 2006. The top three teams in each group qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Players born after 1 January 1987 were allowed to part ...
in Poland. In a 2–1 final win against
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
, Piqué put in a strong performance in defence and also contributed in attack, hitting the crossbar with a header and providing the assist for
striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...
Alberto Bueno Alberto Bueno Calvo (; born 20 March 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer. He operates mainly as a forward, but can also appear as a left winger. After starting out at Real Madrid, he went on to represent mainly Valladolid and Rayo Vallec ...
to score Spain's second goal. Subsequently, he played in the
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score ...
, starting all six of Spain's matches and scoring a goal in the team's come-from-behind 4–2 victory over
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in the round of 16. However, Piqué missed the deciding penalty in the
shoot-out A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only inv ...
against the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...
, and Spain was eliminated at the quarter-final stage.


Senior side

On 6 February 2009, Piqué was called up to the senior squad for the friendly against
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
on 11 February. He played the entire match in a 2–0 win, in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
. In his second match as an international on 28 March 2009, he was called up as a replacement for injured teammate
Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona. He mainly played as a central defender, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a ri ...
and he scored the only goal in Spain's victory in the 2010 World Cup qualifier against
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...
. Four days later, he started in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
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 at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, playing alongside Puyol. He started all seven matches as Spain won the tournament, defeating the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
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 ; rm, citad federala, links=no). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzon ...
, just before Gelson Fernandes scored the only goal of the game, Swiss striker
Eren Derdiyok Eren Derdiyok (born 12 June 1988) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a striker. He is a former Swiss international. Early life Derdiyok was born in Basel, Switzerland, into a Kurdish family from Turkey. He also holds Turkish citiz ...
tumbled over Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas and accidentally kicked Piqué in the face, knocking him over and leaving him with a deep cut beside his right eye. Piqué played every minute of Spain's UEFA Euro 2012 campaign, partnering
Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national football team, Spain nationa ...
in the centre of defence. He successfully converted the team's third penalty in a
semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
shoot-out win over
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...
. In the final, Spain recorded a fifth consecutive clean sheet in a 4–0 win over
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Piqué was one of three Spanish defenders included in
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...
'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 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
stage. On 30 June 2013, Piqué was sent off during the final against
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. He received a straight
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or dia ...
in the 68th minute for a violent tackle on recently signed Barcelona teammate Neymar. The match finished 3–0 to Brazil, ending Spain's world record 29 match unbeaten run in competitive internationals. In Spain's opening group game of UEFA Euro 2016 on 13 June, Piqué scored his fifth goal for his country, a late header in a 1–0 victory against the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...
. In Spain's second group match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 20 June, a 1–0 win against
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
, Piqué made his 100th international appearance. On 11 August 2018, Piqué announced his retirement from international football. On 25 March 2019, Piqué won his 10th cap for
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
in a friendly match against Venezuela, a few months after he had retired from the Spanish national team and led the team to a 2–1 victory.


Style of play

Piqué was a modern and commanding defender, who combined strength and tackling ability with good technique and passing. Due to his height and physical attributes, he was good in the air. Although he was primarily deployed as a centre-back, he was a tactically versatile player who was capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, a position in which he was initially deployed in his youth; he was also deployed as a
sweeper Sweepers are small, tropical marine (occasionally brackish) perciform fish of the family Pempheridae. Found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific region, the family contains about 26 species in two genera. One species (''Pempheris xanth ...
on occasion, showing similarities to German legend Franz Beckenbauer, thus earning the sobriquet "Piquénbauer". He was also occasionally known to use his height as an additional attacking threat by advancing into more offensive positions, often functioning as an auxiliary
striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...
, particularly if his team were trailing late on during matches. His ball-playing ability and capacity to read the game enabled him to form an effective central-defensive partnership with the more physical
Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona. He mainly played as a central defender, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a ri ...
, both with Barcelona and Spain. Despite his talent in his youth, he was initially accused by certain pundits of being error-prone defensively, and has been criticised on occasion for his inconsistency and lack of pace. Considered to be one of the best defenders in world football by pundits, in 2018, Pique's former defensive partner Puyol described him as "the best centre-back in the world" due to his personal development as a player in terms of his intelligence, leadership, positional sense, composure, and anticipation.


Personal life

Piqué was raised in a
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...
family. His father, Joan, is a businessman, and his mother, Montserrat, is the director of a spinal injuries hospital in Barcelona. He has a younger brother, Marc. His grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is a former vice-president of Barcelona. During the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, he was seen by many as one of the public faces of the pro-independence movement, voting and tweeting his support in
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...
. He subsequently faced backlash from some Spanish fans for his support of the Catalan independence referendum. From 2011 to 2022, Piqué was in a relationship with Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. 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 , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. Piqué and Shakira share the same birthday, ten years apart. They have two children together. In June 2022, the couple confirmed in a joint statement that they are separating. Piqué has been in a relationship with Clara Chía Martí since October 2022. Piqué was the face of Mango's men's line ''HE'' for four consecutive campaign seasons between 2011 and 2012. In 2012, he lent his voice to the Catalan version of ''
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! ''The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!'' (released in North America, Australia and New Zealand as ''The Pirates! Band of Misfits'') is a 2012 3D stop-motion animated swashbuckler comedy film produced by the British studio Aardman Ani ...
'' as the Pirate King.


Media and business interests

Piqué is the founder and president of Kosmos Holding (Kosmos Global Holding S.L.), a sports and media investment group he founded with Hiroshi Mikitani (founder and chairman of Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten, Inc.), Edmund Chu, Nullah Sarker, and Mike Evans. Kosmos struck a deal with the International Tennis Federation for a 25-year, $3 billion partnership to transform the Davis Cup and generate substantial revenues for global tennis development. In August 2018, U.S. billionaire Larry Ellison publicly stated his support of Kosmos and his intention to invest in the Kosmos-ITF partnership. In December 2018, through his firm Kosmos Holding, Piqué bought Spanish football club
FC Andorra Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. The club was founded in 1942 and currently plays its home fixtu ...
. On 21 May 2022, the team was promoted to the Segunda División after beating already relegated UCAM Murcia 1–0 at home, thus ascending to the second tier for the first time in their history. In July 2019, Piqué took over a majority stake in another Spanish football club - Gimnàstic Manresa. The acquisition was completed through Kosmos. In December 2020, Piqué invested in the fantasy football game '' Sorare''. Kosmos bought the Spanish broadcasting rights for the 2021 Copa América in a partnership with streamer Ibai Llanos, and in 2021 he and Ibai founded and became co-owners of the esports team KOI. The esports team later acquired a majority interest in
Rogue A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...
, which resulted in Piqué's team competing in the League of Legends European Championship.


Philanthropy

In 2020, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
Piqué (along with teammates, including
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
) committed to a 70% salary cut throughout the crisis. They further committed to donating to the salaries of all employees at the club during the state of emergency.


Tax fraud

On 10 July 2019, Piqué was ordered by a Spanish court to pay €2.1 million to the tax authorities following his conviction for image rights fraud. He had been convicted by Spain's National Court in 2016 for faking the sale of his image rights to his Kerad Project company in order to evade taxes from 2008 to 2010.


Poker tournament results

On 27 August 2019, Piqué took part in the EPT Barcelona €25,000 Single-Day High Roller Event. He finished in second place and won a prize of €352,950.


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Piqué goal.''


Honours

Manchester United * Premier League: 2007–08 * FA Community Shield: 2007 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
: 2007–08 Barcelona * La Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10,
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
,
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19 * Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
*
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
: 2008–09,
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 2014–15 * UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011, 2015 * FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011, 2015 Spain *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...
: 2010 * UEFA European Championship:
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
* UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2006 Individual * La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2008–09 * La Liga Best Defender: 2009–10 *
La Liga Team of the Season The La Liga Awards, previously known as the LFP Awards, were presented annually by the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) to the best players and coach in La Liga, the first division of association football in Spain. Established in the 2008–0 ...
: 2014–15, 2015–16 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
Team of the Season: 2014–15 *
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...
La Liga Team of the Season: 2016–17 * UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament:
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2010, 2011,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, 2015, 2016 * FIFA FIFPro World11: 2010, 2011,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, 2016 * FIFA FIFPro World11 2nd team: 2013, 2015, 2017 * FIFA FIFPro World11 3rd team: 2014, 2018 * FIFA FIFPro World11 nominee: 2019 (9th defender) * ESM Team of the Year:
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *Footballer of the Year in Catalonia: 2019 * Globe Soccer Awards – Player Career Award: 2020 Decorations * Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit: 2011


See also

*
List of footballers with 100 or more UEFA Champions League appearances Since the rebranding of the European Champion Clubs' Cup to UEFA Champions League in 1992 at the start of the 1992–93 season, a total of 47 players have managed to make at least 100 appearances in the competition. The first player to hit the l ...
* List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps


References


External links


Profile
at the FC Barcelona website *

at BDFutbol *

StretfordEnd.co.uk * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pique, Gerard 1987 births Living people Footballers from Barcelona Spanish footballers Association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Real Zaragoza players FC Barcelona players Premier League players La Liga players UEFA Champions League winning players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers Catalonia international footballers 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players 2018 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players UEFA European Championship-winning players FIFA Century Club Spanish expatriate footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Shakira