Gerard Pique began his career at Barcelona’s La Masia academy but was snapped up by Manchester United in 2004.
He spent most of his time in their reserve team and when he eventually made it to the first team, he fought hard to secure a permanent spot.
As a young defender, getting game time was extremely difficult.
He recalled: “In 2007, after two years in England, he told me that I was going to play about 25 games that season. Everything started well. I was getting to play a bit alongside Rio. And then, in November, we went to play in Bolton.”
A mistake from Pique during that match saw Nicolas Anelka score for Bolton and handed Man United a 1-0 loss. The Spaniard instantly knew he had lost the faith of Fergie and the Man United fans.
Pique continued: “Sir Alex promised me 25 games that season, and I ended up getting 12. It was an extremely difficult time.”
“That mistake felt like the end of my career. It ended up being the beginning of it, but only because of what Sir Alex Ferguson did for me.”
But he got the shock of his life when he Heard Barcelona wanted to sign him.
“You see, toward the end of that season, my agent told me that Barcelona were interested in bringing me back. Truthfully, I could not believe it. My exact words to him were, “That doesn’t make sense. I’m not playing at United, so why would they want me?” he said
“And he said, “Well, they know you. They believe in you.”
“Of course, I was thrilled. I wanted to go home. But I knew that I had to have a very difficult conversation with Sir Alex.”
“There was no buyout clause in my contract, and United could set whatever price they wanted, so I had to convince him to let me go.”
“It was one of the hardest conversations of my life, because he took such great care of me. But I walked into his office, and I was honest with him. I said, “Listen, I feel like I’ve lost your trust. Barcelona is my home. I want to go back. I hope you will let me go.”
“We had a long conversation, and he decided that I was sincere, and he agreed to let me leave at the end of the season.”
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