Gerard Pique announces retirement from football after Shakira split.

The Barcelona defender has announced that his final game will be against Almeria on Saturday.

Footballer Gerard Pique announced his retirement from the sport, telling fans in a clip on social media that it was time to end this journey.

The 35-year-old Barcelona defender shared the touching clip on Instagram on Thursday ahead of his final game against Almeria on Saturday. Pique, who jointly announced his split from long-term girlfriend Shakira in June. Joined the club’s academy in 1997 and returned to Barcelona in 2008 after a stint at Manchester United.

“I’ve never said anything before, but now I want to be the one to speak for me. While the clip begins with more recent footage of the soccer star, it also includes a flashback video of him kicking a ball as a toddler. . As Pique explains, he is a Barcelona fan, “born into a family of football lovers.”

His goal isn’t even to become a professional footballer – it’s explicitly to play for Barcelona.

“I’ve been thinking about that kid a lot lately. If they told him that he would fulfil all his dreams. That he would play for Bara, that he would win all kinds of trophies, that he would become champion of Europe and the world. He will play with the best players in history and be one of the team’s captains. Football gave me everything. You, the fans, gave me everything.

With his final game at Camp Nou on Saturday, Pique showed that it was time to “be a regular fan”. From loving the team to his children Milan, nine, and Sasha, seven, who he shares with Shakira, 45.

ESPN reports that pique won eight La Liga titles and three Champions League titles during his time at Barcelona. Before his move from international football in 2018, he helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championships.

CNN says he made 615 appearances with Barcelona in total, and there have been rumours in recent years that suggest he may want to run for president of the Barcelona club.