Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany was clear when he told the club’s assembly that work is currently underway to terminate the contracts of certain players who have a major cost impact, and Marca writes that Gerard Pique is among them.
Alemany did not mention the players he was talking about, the president Joan Laporta also expressed restraint when he spoke about the fact that some footballers did not want to accept the salary reduction, but it seems clear that in both cases it is about Pique.
The Catalan club is looking for ways to “extinguish” Pique to free up the budget. It was also tried last season, but without success.
The defender was determined to stay under the same contract and used the La Liga rule that prohibits changes and reductions in income.
At the end of last year, coach Xavi Hernandez also intervened, who talked to Pique, explaining to him that his position on the field is not guaranteed. He told him he will have to earn that spot because he is fifth choice this season, but Pique accepted the challenge.
However, this is clearly not enough for Barcelona and they continue to look for ways to end the partnership, even though they are aware that Pique has a valuable contract that can last him until the end.
During the summer, the club informed Pique that they would be bringing in new defenders Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen, as well as signing another one next year.
This means that Pique becomes the sixth defender of the hierarchy. This decision was not made because of his poor performance against Inter, but the plan was made earlier and would only have changed if Pique’s performance was solid.
Barça have been on the lookout for a new centre-back for some time, with Athléric Biblao’s Inigo Martinez at the top of the list.
The Catalans tried to bring him in this summer when Kounde’s transfer was in doubt