Gerard Pique, former Barcelona defender, has stated that it was his love for the club that kept him motivated in the final years of his football career.

The 37-year-old retired in November of last season, and at the time, he gave up a significant portion of his wages to assist the team’s finances.

Pique, a product of Barcelona’s academy, left the club to join Manchester United as a teenager, returning to Barcelona four years later.

He admitted that there was a moment in his career when he was 30 that he would not have played for any other team, and he was grateful that he returned to Barcelona.

The former Spain international stated that playing for another club would not have motivated him in his last four or five years as a player, and he probably would have retired early.

“No, no, not really. There was a moment in my career, when I was like 30, where I don’t think I would’ve played for any other team if it wasn’t Barcelona. Because I was not tired, but the career was already long, and for me Barcelona was everything.

“If not, playing for another club, the last four or five years I played because it was Barcelona, I’m not sure I would have found the motivation to keep going. I would have retired,” Pique told BBC 5 Live.

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