SHAKIRA has revealed Gerard Pique had a “super-tense relationship” with Pep Guardiola and that he considered quitting Barcelona to return to Manchester United.
The Spanish World Cup winner won the lot during the 14 year spell at the Nou Camp after heading back to his boyhood club following four seasons with the Red Devils.
The 36-year-old is one of Barcelona’s greatest-ever defenders but he decided to hang up his boots in November despite making 10 appearances at the start of the campaign.
Off the pitch, he and his pop star partner Shakira had split just five months previous to that, ending their 11-year relationship which saw them have two children.
The Colombian singer has now appeared in court for a trial into alleged tax fraud.
And, as revealed by El Pais, she revealed during her court appearance how not everything was as rosy as it seemed between Pique and Barcelona.
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Discussing his relationship with the LaLiga giants and previous manager Pep Guardiola – who has just led Manchester City to the Treble, she said: “Gerard had a rather complicated relationship with Barca.
“With Guardiola he had a super-tense relationship, of ‘you go or I go’. It was a situation that made him suffer a lot.”
Despite that alleged ultimatum, Pique remained at the Nou Camp while Guardiola left them in 2012.
However, Shakira also claimed that Pique considered a return to United later when Luis Enrique was appointed as manager in 2014.
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She claims Enrique told her ex that he would “be sat on the bench a lot” and that Pique began to consider other options available to him.
One of those was allegedly a transfer to United, a move that never materialised.
But Pique has spoken fondly about his time at the Red Devils, saying: “I learned so much during my time at United.
“Sharing a dressing room with Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs at such a young age was an amazing experience.
“I didn’t play as much as I would have liked but it was a masters degree in development both as a player and a person.”
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