Gerard Pique was born on February 2, 1987, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and grew up in a Catalan family. Pique’s career began in 1997 when he entered the FC Barcelona academy, and it was the start of a great journey. So in this article, you will read Gerard Pique biography.
Gerard Pique is a hero for Barcelona fans, just like Sergio Ramos is to Real Madrid supporters. There is more to know about Gerard Pique life story, so reading about his career is a great way to find out more about him.
Everything About Gerard Pique Biography
Everything to know about Gerard Pique biography is in the Footbalium. Let’s start and step into his fascinating world.
Gerard Pique’s Early Life
Gerard Pique real name is Gerard Pique Bernabeu. He was born in Barcelona, Spain, on February 2, 1987. Gerard Pique’s parents were wealthy and made everything easy for their son. Gerard Pique is the son of the lawyer, Joan Pique, and director of the Guttman Institute Hospital in Barcelona, Montserrat Bernabéu.
Marc is his younger brother. Gerard Pique hurt his head when he was 15 months old and fell off a rooftop at his grandmother’s house while chasing a ball. He was in a coma for two days, and this is a big part of Gerard Pique biography. When he was young, he was very good with the ball.
His grandpa Amador Bernabéu, who was vice president of FC Barcelona, made him a member of the club as soon as he was born. He joined the Blaugrana club as a defender and went on to play in all of their leagues.
He became very flexible and had an impressive ability to score goals. In Barcelona B, he was coached by Tito Vilanova and played alongside Leo Messi, Cesc Fabregas, and Víctor Vázquez, among others.
Although, because of his size and abilities, he played preferably in the center of defense. He showed enormous versatility in adapting to any position. At 17, he accepted an offer from Manchester United, a club that had followed him for some time. Gerard was unclear about his future at Barca and decided to embark on the English adventure.
Gerard Pique’s Statistics
Because of his intelligence and agility on the field, many people believed Gerard Pique was one of the best defenders in the world. When we look closely at this article, we can see why Gerard Pique stats are the best.
Playing Career
Playing at Manchester United was a turning point in Gerard Pique biography. Pique’s career began in 1997 when he entered the FC Barcelona academy. He trained at the Catalan academy for seven years. He was also among the main defenders of the club’s youth team. In 2004, he received an offer from Manchester United FC to join their academy, as the young talent matched the style of play cultivated by the English club.
Manchester United
Pique trained at Manchester United FC’s academy between 2004-2005, and within that year, he proved himself good enough to join the main squad’s first team.
In 2004, Gerard was offered his first professional contract with Manchester United FC. Pique didn’t think twice about taking the very good offer from the English club, and by the 2004–05 season, he was already one of the first-team players.
In 2006, the player was loaned to Real Zaragoza, where he played during the 2006/07 season. He played 22 games and spent most of his time on the bench. At the end of the loan, Pique returned to the English club only to continue training for a place in the main squad, unattainable to him. However, in 2008, things changed for good, as Barcelona became a devastating force under Pep Guardiola’s leadership.
Returning to FC Barcelona
Gerard received an offer from FC Barcelona, and this was a turning point in his career. The club signed a long-term contract with the player. Pique scored his first goal for Barcelona on November 26, 2008, when the team beat Sporting CP 5–2 in the UEFA Champions League group stage that season.
On May 2, Pique scored the sixth goal in Barcelona’s 6–2 win over Real Madrid in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
A few days later, he helped Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 in the Copa del Rey Final to win the first title of his career. After Real Madrid lost 3–2 to Villarreal with two games left in the season, Barcelona won the 2008–09 La Liga title three days later.
Gerard Pique’s Golden Years
In the 2009 Champions League Final, which was on May 27, Pique played against his old team, Manchester United. Barcelona beat Roma 2-0 to complete a historic triple and become the first Spanish team to do so.
In the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final in Yokohama, Japan, on December 18, 2011, Barcelona beat the Brazilian team Santos 4–0. Pique played in the game.
On May 1, 2013, Pique scored an own goal against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou, putting Bayern ahead 2–0. Bayern ended up winning 3–0 and 7–0 overall. It was a harsh defeat. On May 20, 2014, Pique signed a new deal with Barcelona until 2019.
Gerard Pique stats in 2015 were amazing as he played for Barcelona in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final on June 6, 2015. Barca beat Juventus 3–1 at Berlin’s Olympiastadion to win their fifth European Cup/Champions League title. This made Barcelona the first team in history to win the league, cup, and European Cup three times in a row.
On December 20, 2015, Pique played for Barcelona against River Plate in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final in Yokohama. Barcelona won 3–0. Pique’s deal was extended again on January 18, 2018, until 2022. On August 25, 2019, his 500th game for the club, a 5–2 win over Real Betis, he played for the full 90 minutes.
Final Years in Barcelona
Pique signed a new deal on October 20, 2020, that kept him at the club until June 20, 2024, and set his buy-out price at €500 million. In the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on March 3, 2021, Pique scored with a header in the last minute against Sevilla. Barcelona won 3–0 in overtime and went on to win the Copa del Rey Final in 2021.
In order to focus on the fight for custody of his children after his divorce from Shakira, Pique has decided to officially retire from football, despite having a contract with FC Barcelona until 2024. This news surprised his teammates so much team as well as the fans of the Blaugrana club. During a league match against Almeria on November 5, 2022, Pique retired from football.
International Career with Spain
Gerard Pique also played for the lower ranks of Spain. Vicente del Bosque called him up for the first time in 2009. He played his first game for the national team on February 11, 2009, against England. In March of that same year, he got his first goal for Spain against Turkey in the qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup. This was his first official match with the team.
From 2009 to 2018, he was an absolute international for Spain. He played in 102 games and scored five goals. Gerard Pique won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa on July 11, 2010. They beat the Netherlands by a score of 1-0. The Catalan player played in every minute of the championship.
In 2012, the center-back got the only title he was missing: the UEFA Euro Cup. He played in all the games as he did in the World Cup and teamed up with Sergio Ramos in defense.
Gerard and the rest of the Spanish team were knocked out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after the first round. He was called “Piquenbauer” because he played the same way as the German Franz Beckenbauer.
Gerard Pique’s Playing Style
We dedicate this part of Gerard Pique biography to his playing style. He was a leader, but Pique became known as a defender who was good with the ball at his feet, and in the end, Guardiola chose him as his first-choice center-back.
Because of Puyol’s strong, wall-like presence, Pique’s defensive moves were not as noticeable, but they were good enough to show that he is becoming a good defender. His interceptions and tackles were amazing. His stats for a ball-playing and forward-going defender with amazing passing accuracy were outstanding.
Gerard Pique’s Legacy
This section of Gerard Pique biography is all about an enormous impact. Pique was often blamed for this team’s recent failures, but that did not mean he was the cause.
He did his best for Barcelona. He knew it was time to move on now. It might have been time for him to move on years ago, but he didn’t have a plan for that, so that shouldn’t be held against him.
Pique should be remembered for everything he did on the field for Barcelona. He was a key part of one of the best football dynasties of all time. And, as he said when he left, he will come back. His time as a player may be over, but his story at Barcelona is far from over, which is good news for Barca fans.
Gerard Pique’s Family
It won’t be a complete Gerard Pique biography if we don’t talk about Gerard Pique’s girlfriend and his relationship with Shakira. His engagement with the singer Shakira was made public at the start of 2011. He has two kids with the Colombian. Milan and Sasha Pique Mebarak were born in Barcelona on January 22, 2013, and January 29, 2015, respectively.
Shakira and Gerard Pique said they were breaking up on June 3, 2022, after being together for 12 years. The Colombian singer and the Barcelona football player, who have two children together, asked people to “respect their privacy” in a joint statement.
The reason for the divorce was Pique. He met Clara Cha Mart, 23 years old and from Barcelona. At the time, she worked at Kosmos. Shakira believed Gerard cheated on her with Clara, and because of that, the chaos started.
Gerard Pique’s parents, Montserrat Bernabeu and Joan Pique Rovira, are reportedly forced to leave their family home because of Shakira.
The singer of the ‘Waka Waka’ song lives next door to the house where the parents of the former Barcelona star live.
She has been bothering Montserrat and Joan by throwing a lot of parties at her house. Shakira thinks that they knew Pique was cheating on her, but they didn’t tell her. Shakira has 85.8M followers on Instagram as of 2023.
Gerard Pique’s Honors
Gerard Pique had a very great career with Barcelona and the Spanish national team. He played as a CB for Barcelona, became the captain, and won over 30 championships. He won the World Cup with Spain in the 2010 World Cup, and was part of the winning team at the Euro 2012. Here is a complete list of all of Gerard Pique’s honors:
Manchester United
- Premier League: 2007/08
- Football League Cup: 2005/06
- FA Community Shield: 2007
- UEFA Champions League: 2007/08
Barcelona
- La Liga: 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2012/13, 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
- Supercopa de España: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018
- UEFA Champions League: 2008/09, 2010/11, 2014/15
- UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2015
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011, 2015
Spain
- FIFA World Cup: 2010
- UEFA European Championship: 2012
- 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: 2014/15, 2015/16
- UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2014/15
- UEFA La Liga Team of the Season: 2016/17
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016
- FIFA FIFPro World11: 2010, 2011, 2012, 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, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16
- Footballer of the Year in Catalonia: 2019
- Globe Soccer Awards – Player Career Award: 2020
Gerard Pique’s Life Outside of Football
Gerard Pique biography is getting interesting with his life outside of the football section. Pique and Mickey Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten, own the company Kosmos Global Holding. The KOSMOS company has put money into many markets, such as food, an energy drink brand, sunglasses, The Player’s Tribune show, real estate investments, and online and audiovisual video games.
Gerard Pique and Ibai Llanos made a 7-a-side football league after Gerard Pique retired from professional football. The league had some of the biggest names in video games and former professional football players playing against each other.
League of Kings brought 92,522 fans to the first Kings League final, which took place at Spotify’s Camp Nou on March 26, 2023. Another 2.2 Million people watched the game online on the most popular platforms.
