Love or hate him, Pique only deserves respect for his achievements with Spain

In the haze of yet another tiresome weekend of international fixtures a story emerged late last night which has caused quite the storm over here in Spain. Gerard Pique, one of the most decorated Spanish players in history, announced he would be retiring from international football after the conclusion of the World Cup in Russia, 2018.

“I always give everything I have on the pitch but there are people who think it’s better if I’m not here,” Pique told the media. Truth be told, the commanding defender has never truly been accepted by the fans or certain sections of the press due to his strong Catalan roots. Often honest about his personal viewpoint on the independence of his home region, this was seen as anti-Spanish and that tag has remained ever since.

During a time when football is littered with robotic and cliched responses from its main stars, the treatment Gerard Pique has received for being himself is why so many choose to leave social media to their PR department. How often do we see the same corporate tweets after a win saying: “Great to grab the three points today. The fans were fantastic.” Or after a loss: “Disappointed we couldn’t get the victory today but the fans support was second-to-none.” No emotion, no honesty and all a bit soulless.

For someone who has won everything there is to win at both domestic and international level, it’s a huge shame that his retirement from the national team feels forced despite his claims of it being otherwise. Take away your dislike for the team he plays for or his politics views and just value the player and his worth, then tell me he doesn’t deserve to be considered one of the all-time great defenders.

Now no one is going to paint Pique as a saint in all of this. He mentioned Real Madrid as Barcelona won the treble in his first season at the club. A few years later, when Jose Mourinho’s Madrid side arrived at the Camp Nou, he famously held up his hand following a 5-0 victory. Again, he spoke about their arch rivals when celebrating another treble as he made reference to Kevin Roldan, a singer who performed at Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous birthday bash after a defeat to Barcelona. In August last year, after beating Sevilla 5-4 in the European SuperCup, he said: “F–k those from Madrid.” And the most recent was a public spat with Alvaro Arbeloa, referring to the Real Madrid man as a “cono.. conocido” - a dig at the unsavoury nickname handed to the defender, ‘cone’, and saying he wasn’t his friend, just an acquaintance.

Despite the animosity between Pique and the Real Madrid fans, which is understandable, I doubt he feels hurt by the reactions or boos when he visits the Santiago Bernabeu. I remember him speaking at a press conference about his little attacks on Real Madrid and their fans and it made a lot of sense.

No, not necessary what he said but the reasons behind it. If Sergio Ramos had said or done the same he’d be even more lauded in Madrid than he currently is. Fans love players who seemingly care as much about rivalries as they do. Something which is certainly a dying breed in modern football where badge-kissing happens after almost every transfer.

“I know it wasn’t elegant. But I know that - do you think I didn’t know what I said wasn’t elegant? But it’s like in life, you don’t wear a shirt and tie 24/7 and sometimes you wear swimming shorts and sandals - it’s the same. This is a rivalry and I feel proud to have been part of an era where Barcelona have won so much and it’s meant Real haven’t. It was always the reverse, historically speaking, and we’ve changed that so I feel proud, very proud of that. Why can’t I show that? I know it isn’t elegant but to sometimes break away the reactions people expect isn’t bad.”

Whether what he said was correct or not is another matter but he certainly has the right to say how he feels.

Nowadays players, who have no real connection with a club, take selfies after a victory over a major rival. What is that all about? As if taking a picture of yourself is something fans really care to see. In the stands you won’t find fans all grouping together to ‘remember this moment’ as they’ll be living it instead, probably forgetting the conversations they had before waking up with the mother of all hangovers. “Hey, we won, let’s take a picture.” No thanks. Give a guy who absolutely loves his club - and saying what we all feel - over more forced photo opportunities please.

And while that anger or hate is fine and natural, on both sides, there needs to be a point where you draw the line. To hear Pique being booed as Spain play up and down the country is majorly disappointing. There’s an arrogance amongst certain fans when it comes to devaluing the worth of the Barcelona man to Spain’s success. Without him, I doubt they’d have enjoyed such a long era of dominance on the international stage.

It’s a testament to his desire to represent his country that he continues to wear that shirt. Last September he was largely booed as Spain played Macedonia. “The last thing I’d do would be to quit the national side.” He later mentioned that everyone had the right to boo but the only thing which concerned him was the opinion of the coach - Vicente del Bosque - who didn’t like the idea of Spanish fans booing their own player.

The stance over his political views has muddied the waters for some fans as well as certain Madrid-based publications. Each time they’ve searched to find a way of throwing Pique under the bus for being proud of where he comes from or being in favour of a Catalan side.

During the match against Albania last night those same sections of the media created a frenzy because they believed Pique had cut off the Spanish colours from his sleeves. A preposterous claim but one that gathered momentum on social media. Both he and the national side had to speak out and explain that he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, which didn’t carry the Spanish colours on its sleeve, and later cut them because they felt uncomfortable. No drama, no anti-Spain agenda, just one man looking to feel comfortable as he played a football match.

“I’ll be 31 and I’ve won everything with the national team. I’ll try to play my 100th game with the team and I want to win the World Cup again, which is the most important thing,” he added after announcing his intention to leave the national side in 2018. Pique insisted it wasn’t a ‘heat of the moment’ decision but there’s no doubt he feels under-appreciated by some. There isn’t much more he could achieve in a Spain shirt to be fair.

There’s logic behind the move as it would allow the new generation to come through whilst also extending his club career with Barcelona. However the gloss has been taken off that somewhat by how his decision was announced. I don’t question his word when Pique says he’d be thinking about this for a while but, deep down, it’s those who constantly find something to beat him with that have forced the guy to rush this announcement.

Sadly it appears certain fans won’t truly realise or accept how good he is until he’s no longer there to be a figure of hate. Whatever his political views are it has never stopped him giving 100% each time he’s stepped out onto the field for Spain and let’s not forget, after losing to Italy, only one man had the guts to face the media afterwards: Gerard Pique.

Spain’s loss is definitely Barcelona’s gain.