Xavi on Pique: ‘I had to make decisions, it was one of the most difficult days of my career’

Barcelona’s game against Almeria next Saturday (5/11, 22:00 CET) will be the last in the career of Gerard Pique, who announced on Friday (4/11) that he was hanging up his boots.

Xavi’s press conference was unsurprisingly devoted to the end of the great centre-back’s career, with the Catalan coach citing the pivotal conversation he had with him over the summer.

Xavi claimed that the day he told Pique his intentions was one of the most difficult of his career.

“A few events made me want to let him go. He was on contract and the decision to let him go is a step that shows his greatness. He’s a legend at the club and deserves to be recognized like that.

We talked over the summer and I told him my intentions. It was one of the most difficult days of my coaching career. He was my teammate. It’s happened to all of us when there comes a time when you don’t feel so useful anymore, it’s not easy to deal with.

I certainly had a significant part in his decision, but for the good of the club. I’m looking for the good of the club, but I have to make decisions, it’s not easy, sometimes it’s uncomfortable. I have to do what is best for the club. Sometimes this job is uncomfortable making certain decisions with teammates like Pique or Alves. But I won’t divulge the conversation we had, it was private,

It’s sad to see players, colleagues or friends say goodbye, but that’s life, it happens to all of us. I don’t know if I was fair or not, but I was honest. Athese are the conditions and often we don’t choose the ending. That’s how things happened and that’s how he made his decisions.”