Gerard Pique has admitted that his relationship with former Pep Guardiola turned “sour” during the manager’s final campaign at Barcelona.
The central defender admitted that it “started to go wrong” between the two in Guardiola’s final season as Blaugrana boss was “brutal” between the two. The comments represent the remarkable decline in the relationship between the two, which Pique previous claimed began when he started dating Shakira.
Since his exit from the Camp Nou in 2012, current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola suggested that Pique would be the future president of the Catalan club. The two appear to have a somewhat complex relationship, although Pique’s latest comments suggest there is a huge mutual respect between the two.
Guardiola was appointed as Blaugrana coach the same summer Pique was signed from Manchester United in 2008, with the two enjoying plenty of successes together at the club over the course of four seasons. Pique made 183 first-team appearances under the coach, winning an incredible 14 trophies in that timeframe including four La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns. Yet it was Guardiola’s final campaign at the helm, in 2011-12, when things began to go wrong.
Pique explained on to YouTuber Jordi Wild when asked about their relationship, as per Marca : "I met him in Abu Dhabi and we went for a coffee, I've always had a very close relationship with Pep. There are moments of ups and downs. The first three years were a bed of roses but the last one was brutal, I'm sure it was also my fault.
"You don't know why things start to go wrong, relationships start to go sour. It was a very complicated year on a person level. I will always be grateful to him, we have a very good relationship."
Have Your Say! Will Guardiola return to Barcelona in the future? Tell us what you think here.
Since 2011, Pique has been in a relationship with pop megastar Shakira, whom he shares two children with but is not married to. But Pique revealed in 2021 that dating the singer-songwriter effected how he and Guardiola got on at the Camp Nou during their final year together.
He explained: "We reached an important point of tension with him, and with the dressing room in general. The Mourinho theme wears a lot. Pep wants absolute control of everything that happens. I started dating Shakira and the relationship with him changes. Now the relationship is perfect. I had a lot of pressure and, if there was one moment, I could think of leaving is [after the season of] 11-12."
Pique remains a mainstay in the heart of the defence for Barca, now in his 14 th season at the club.
