5 of Gerard Pique’s Best Moments of 2019

Gerard Pique is ranked 34th in 90min’s European Player of the Year series.

It’s been a busy year for Gerard Pique.

What with launching a newly rebranded Davis Cup, and winning €350,000 in international poker games, it’s fair to say he’s had a lot on his plate.

Luis Suarez,Antoine Griezmann,Frenkie de Jong,Ansu Fati

Oh, and he’s still found time to make rest of us feel ridiculously inadequate by managing to remain one of the best defenders in the world at one of the best teams in European football.

So join us as we take a look back at some of the annoyingly talented 32-year-old’s best moments of 2019…

Goal Line Clearance Against Girona (27/01/19)

Gerard Pique

Despite being one of the greatest ball playing defenders the world has ever seen, ​Pique is also a master of the type of gritty defending John Terry made a career out of.

Goal line clearances are something he specialises in, so when he made yet another one against Girona at the start of this year, it was hardly surprising.

A pattern has emerged in 2019 where either he or ​​Marc-Andre ter Stegen​ gets ​Barcelona out of jail at the back, while ​Lionel Messi delivers the goods up top. After 11 seasons at the club it’s easy to take his brilliance for granted, but his uncanny ability for being in the right place at the right time should be celebrated as much as possible

Leading the Comeback Against Rayo Vallecano (9/3/19)

Gerard Pique

Say what you like about his actions on and off the pitch, one thing that cannot be denied is that Gerard Pique is a born leader. Never was this more clear than with his goal against Rayo Vallecano. 

Vallecano​ had taken the lead through an Raúl de Tomás Gómez strike after 24 minutes and it seemed as though a shock was on at the Nou Camp. Failure to win would mean that Barca’s lead at the top of La Liga over second placed ​Atletico Madrid would be cut to just four points with 11 games to play, and with Atleti’s form at the time La Blaugrana’s title hopes looked under serious threat.

Then up stepped Pique with a towering header to make it 1-1 just before half time, sparking a comeback. They went on to win the game 3-1 and stretch their lead to seven points, something Diego Simeone’s side simply couldn’t catch up with. It takes big moments to win titles – that was one of them.

Return to Manchester (10/04/19)

Anthony Martial,Gerard Pique

Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to keep Jonny Evans over Gerard Pique will probably go down as one of his worst in his 26 years as ​Manchester United manager (maybe after the signing of Bebe).

So when Barcelona drew the Red Devils in the Champions League quarter finals earlier this year, Pique would’ve been keen to show the Old Trafford faithful what they had been missing.

He did not disappoint. ​The Spaniard was imperious as Manchester United failed to manage even a shot on target in a Champions League tie for the first time since 2005.

500th Game for Barcelona (25/8/19)​

Getting to the elite level of professional football is hard; staying there for 500 games is even more difficult. That’s what Gerard Pique managed when he pulled on a Barcelona shirt for the 500th time against Real Betis earlier this year.

Throughout arguably the greatest period in Barca’s history Pique has been a constant, and is probably the second name on any Barcelona manager’s team sheet after Lionel Messi.

He has been able to focus even more on his career at the Camp Nou after retiring from international duty last year, and has Xavi’s record of 767 Barcelona appearances firmly in his sights. With this man’s consistency, you wouldn’t back against him.

8th La Liga Title​

Yep nothing to see here…just Gerard Pique picking up his EIGHTH La Liga title of his career. 

The man has only been at Barcelona for 11 years! He’s now the joint fourth most decorated player of all time with a ridiculous 34 trophies to his name, ahead of the likes of ​Cristiano Ronaldo and ​Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The record for most La Liga wins currently belongs to former ​Real Madrid legend Paco Gento who won 12 in the 1950s and 60s. With Barcelona currently on course to win yet another Spanish title, you wouldn’t back against him eventually getting to that record either.​

Let’