Gerard Piqué was the guest this Tuesday at A3’s ‘El Hormiguero’ and spoke with Pablo Motos about Xavi’s new Barça, his relationship with him, ‘his’ Davis Cup, his projects …
Didn’t Xavi let him come to Madrid?: “Actually, nothing was happening. We decided to postpone this interview. We postponed this interview. Now I had two days off and I was in Madrid.”
Xavi’s rules for you: “Xavi has set rules like all coaches. The surfing and electric bike has not mentioned them. I don’t know if he can or not. He has set rules that are necessary and we are all going to comply as always. “.
Companion coach: “I don’t know if it is positive or not that Xavi has been a teammate. It puts added pressure on you in a good way. You cannot fail him morally. He knows the level I can give and if he does not give me the feeling that I am failing him.” .
Davis Cup: “This year we have done it in three different countries. In Italy it was an absolute success. In Spain with a Kazakhstan-Sweden we had 5,000 people. The elimination of Spain hurt us.”
Tennis player of the future: “In Spain we have Alcaraz. There are others like Sinner, Zverev or Thiem”.
Do you play tennis?: “I don’t have time and now with the rules I can’t play tennis.”
President of Andorra: “I am a shareholder of Andorra. I am focused on football and I have a team that manages Andorra and the Davis Cup.”
Sports: “Now we have made a League of Legends team. At the end there comes a point that you are like Florentino, you have many teams.”
Envy of Madrid: “There is a lot of life. People go out into the streets. There are things to do. It’s a different feeling from Barcelona. In recent years Barcelona has faded a bit. There is a lot of culé in Madrid.”
Davis Headquarters: “Next year we will have to move.”
Penalty at Villarreal: “I did not see the Madrid game, but I do not know if there was a clearer one. The ball touches my hand and it is attached to the body. I think it is not a penalty.”
When he told him that Messi was leaving Barça: “It was a very hard day. We have shared 16 years in the dressing room. It is almost like a brother. It was hard on a personal level. This year things have not started well because the best in history has left us. Yesterday he won the Ball de Oro proving that he is the best in history. “
Messi in Paris: “Change is always difficult. It happened to me when I went to Manchester, but it is the law of life. I left alone and he has left with his family. Leaving Spain unless you go to Latin America you will speak another language”.
Change in football: “It is a sport that becomes a product. If people start to stop consuming it, income and wages decrease. As much as we think this is impossible, this happens. Either you adapt or in the end it is complicated. Nowadays they consume football differently than I did. Now you have all the competitions, content on Netflix, Instagram and football competes against all this. Either you create a sexy product or football will tend to decrease. “
President of Barça: “There are days that yes and days that no. You have to have a great love for the club. If one day I decide to do it, I will give it. To present yourself you have to present a guarantee of 150 million. Florentino in Madrid wants to raise it to that nobody … The next elections in Madrid could be in 20 years. Personal sacrifice when things don’t go well without charging anything and for the fact of loving a club. I have been in love with Barça since I was born. There is a world left to be president. If the numbers are positive, they will give you back 150 million. “
Bartomeu: “We’ll see how it ends. People want answers when the club is not doing well. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the president and the footballer. During the game you help more by cheering than by whistling because the player blocks. Whistle to your own team it does not make any sense”.
Withdrawal: “I have spoken with my colleagues and when your career ends it is the abyss. You have been playing since you were 16 years old and suddenly one day everything ends. No matter how prepared you are, they tell you that it is the precipice and they take a long time to adapt to the new life. Besides the fact that before you were a star and then nobody recognizes you. “
Fame after retirement: “It would be a pleasure if they didn’t recognize me. Nobody teaches us. AFE, LaLiga or FEF would be nice if they prepared people for this change. People in the 90s who made a lot of money and if they don’t manage it well, they don’t have much money. If you do not manage wealth well, it goes away very quickly. The mind is not prepared. “
Be prepared for the after: “I do not know. I have tried in recent years to prepare this life that I will once retire and have another routine. You will miss the lawn, but you will have another work environment in a company. It will not be so hard, but I’m sure I’m going to miss it. “
PSG offer after everyone left this summer: “No”.
Vinicius, from one to ten: “This season, a nine.”
What would they have to offer you to go to Madrid: “It’s totally impossible.”
Win the World Cup with Spain or the Champions League with Barça: Winning the World Cup was the best. The 23 of us who made up that team will go down in history. I would put it on the same level as winning the treble the first year. That Champions League is at the same level as the World Cup “.
Do you have Florentino’s phone number?: “If you have not changed it, I have it, for a personal matter”.
Leaving money with a partner: “Yes, he gave it back and sometimes if someone needs a house or a flat I leave it for them to try it in case they like it.”