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Gerard Piqué announces his return to soccer: ‘I miss it a lot’
Gerard Piqué announced his return to soccer following his retirement in November 2022.
Gerard Piqué announced the end of his professional soccer career on November 3rd, 2022. The announcement was a shock for fans of Barcelona F.C., who’d seen him play and win trophies for the team through the course of 25 years. The retirement created a media frenzy, one made worse by his notorious split from Shakira and his then blossoming relationship with Clara Chia.
As we enter 2024, it seems like Pique is reconsidering his decision. He recently shared an announcement revealing that he’s returning to soccer.
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“It’s a new year and after thinking about it, I’ve decided to return to soccer,” he wrote in Spanish on X. “I miss it a lot. This time, I won’t be returning as a player, but as a coach. I’ll share more detais near the end of the week.”
Since his retirement, the former Barcelona star has been involved in soccer in different ways, including the launch of the Kings League, a soccer league based in Barcelona that has been slowly expanding to different locations all over the world. The project met great success and had the involvement of beloved soccer icons like Iker Casillas and Kun Aguero.
Piqué has left fans excited with this announcement, with many wanting to know more about his future plans. As of this writing, not much is known about Piqué’s new career endeavors, with there being no rumors linking him to major teams in the Spanish soccer league.
Es un nuevo año y después de pensarlo detenidamente he decidido volver al fútbol. Lo echo mucho de menos. Esta vez no será como jugador. Será como entrenador. Compartiré más detalles al final de la semana.
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) January 9, 2024
Piqué is the owner of the Andorra, a professional soccer team that currently plays in Spain’s second division. While that team could be a possibility for his debut as a manager, many believe he’ll likely work for a different team.
Why did Piqué retire?
Piqué played his last match with Barcelona F.C. on November 5th, 2022. He discussed the moment and his retirement with his friend Ibai Llanos, on a Twitch stream. “There are many reasons why I’m leaving now: People know I began the year with a meeting with the manager that told me that I had it hard,” he said of Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández, with there being rumors that the two had a tense relationship.
“I think at some point I’d like to be the president of Barcelona. In the future I’d love to help the club of my life exploit all of the potential that it has,” said Piqué. “But now, I don’t have the head for it. I want to do other things and have freedom. I want to have the freedom of not training every day or being busy on the weekends because I have matches. I want to focus on other things.”
