Last year it was Lionel Messi, and this summer, the name of the historic Barcelona player that could leave the club is none other than Gerard Piqué.
An article by Sport states that coach Xavi Hernández held a meeting with the center back to discuss his future with the club in past weeks, and the heated exchange ended with Xavi urging his former teammate to leave the club as soon as possible with the "highest possible amount of decency," which would force Piqué to forfeit a good portion of his pending wages.
According to those close to the club, Xavi's arguments to ask Piqué to leave had to do with his physical problems, with his multiple business commitments that have seen him getting distracted from his playing duties, and last but not least, due to his problems away from the pitch, which include a highly-publicized separation from his partner, Colombian singer Shakira.
Piqué's reply, as expected, consisted in vowing he would stay focused on the pitch while trying to get his act together when it came to his multiple off-the-pitch issues, but Xavi's stance did not change and urged the player to speak with team exec Mateu Alemany, who has been dealing with all negotiations surrounding players that are surplus to the club's requirements.
In fact, the former midfielder urged Piqué to reach an agreement with the club to forfeit part of his unpaid wages for last season, a negotiation that saw Pique's salary reduced by 50%.
Piqué's deal at Camp Nou comes to an end in 2024, which makes his exit a bit more complicated than initially expected. Either way, if Xavi has already told his former teammate the team would benefit from his exit, then the Catalan defender should really consider to leave the club before more pressure piles up on him.
