Gerard Pique claims he cried when Lionel Messi left Barcelona | OneFootball

Ever since Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona, Gerard Pique has often been seen as the villain of the story. Several reports stated that the Spaniard inhibited the Argentine staying at the club.

In a recent interview, Pique set the record straight, showering the septuple Ballon d’Or winner with praise.

Pique started off by saying: “Messi was Barcelona’s best player. I’ve always said that we had Messi to win titles, but we also had to have a good team. A single player cannot win titles.”

More often than not when people speak of Messi, they talk about him as though he ran a one-man show. Granted Messi-dependencia was a very real phenomenon, he never worked alone. Sacrifices were made by many such that he and the team could excel.

The World Cup winner then went on to add that he believes Messi to be the best to ever have touched a football. “Lionel Messi is the best player in the history of the game.”

Messi’s world record seven Ballon d’Ors speak volumes of his individual quality. The Argentine is two adrift of nearest challenger Cristiano Ronaldo with five.

Had the award been accredited to him purely for reasons pertaining to his individual quality, rather than perhaps collective silverware, he would have eight or more.

Pique then spoke about Messi’s exit, an event which sent shockwaves around the footballing community. Nobody expected the Argentine to leave Barça, and Messi’s own tears that fateful day encapsulated his dejection.

He said: “I cried when Messi left Barcelona. I cried for him. For the career he had at Barça, it would have been great if he had stayed until the end of his career at the club.”

Upon the impossibility of renewal, Pique was accused by fans, and according to various news sources, Messi himself, but the Spaniard offered up his explanation for the departure.

Pique stated: “I can understand why Messi couldn’t renew. The club was suffering a lot economically because of the past president and how he managed the club. But at the end of the day, these are things that happen in life. Sometimes you make a decision and things don’t work out.”

One of the single most iconic banners in the Camp Nou’s history is the “God save the king”, in reference to a man many have called the king of the game, Messi. To Barcelona and fans alike, Messi was like a god, one he wished could have stayed home

He concluded: “For Barcelona and the fans Messi was like a God, it would have been great if he stayed.”

This interview should calm the storm in conversations pertaining to the Argentine and Pique in the future.