Gerard Piquet - biography, personal life and interesting facts from the life of a football player. Biography of Gerard Piquet
Gerard Pique was born on February 2, 1987 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. My father worked as a lawyer, had his own business. Mother is the rector of the medical university. But the boy did not follow in the footsteps of his parents. The future of the player was predetermined by the famous grandfather Amador Bernabeu - at the time of Gerard's birth, the vice-president of the Barcelona football club.
The boy began to show interest in football at the age of 1.5. At the age of 10, Gerard was admitted to the main academy of the Catalan superclub "La Masia". Soon he began to play for the youth team Barcelona B. In 2004, the seventeen-year-old Piquet became interested in Manchester United, and the Spaniard signed his first professional contract with the English club.
Gerard's debut at Manchester took place in October 2004. The player replaced John O'Shea in the English League Cup match. The young footballer took the position of a central defender. He successfully played for both the main and reserve teams of Manchester United. A good result allowed him to extend his contract with the club until 2009.
In 2006, Spanish club Zaragoza rented Piqué from Manchester for the season. In the team, Piquet constantly appeared in the starting lineup and showed excellent playing qualities. However, after returning to Manchester United, he rarely appeared on the field, played only 23 matches during the season. In 2008 England decided to sell Gerard to Barcelona for € 5 million.
At the end of the 2008-2009 season, he finally established himself in Barcelona, becoming its leader. From that moment on, a new era began in the career of a football player. Barcelona won the Spanish championship, the Champions League and also won the King's Cup. Piquet's speedy and efficient performance attracted the attention of Spain's head coach Vicente del Bosque.
Gerard's debut for the national team took place on February 11, 2009 in a friendly match with England. In the summer of 2009, Gerard, together with the national team, participated in the Confederation Cup in South Africa. In the tournament, the Spanish team took only third place. But already in the summer of next year, the FIFA World Cup was also held there. And this time Spain won.
In 2012, the national team took part in the European Championship. And the Spanish footballers became champions again. For all the games of the Championship, Gerard's team conceded the only goal, and in the decisive game, the team literally defeated the Italian national team. At the end of Euro 2012, Piquet was included in the symbolic team of the tournament - a team consisting of the best players of the championship who play in the national teams of different countries.
In 2017, Gerard took an intensive course at Harvard Business School in the USA. Piquet has a stake in a company that makes semi-finished meat products. Also invested in the shares of the glasses manufacturer "Kypers". Together with Carles Puyol, he invested in a company that produces isotonic drinks - drinks designed for a sports audience, helping the body recover after prolonged exertion.
Piquet founded the Kerad Games company, and as a result of the programmers' work, the game "Golden Manager" was born. The sponsors are Coca-Cola and Nike. But so far the company is unprofitable. The footballer does not lose hope, but even, on the contrary, is sure that soon the playing direction will bring him profit.
In the fall of 2017, Gerard launched his own show, where he interviews football players. While announcing a new project, he said that he was going to publish only true stories, as he was tired of the inventions of the official media. He was visited by Neymar, Luis Suarez, Javier Mascherano and Lionel Messi.
Often a footballer appears in advertisements, which is not surprising. The man is in excellent shape - with a height of 194 cm, his weight is 85 kg. Piqué became the face of MANGO and Nike several times. In February 2018, it became known that the footballer had extended his contract with Barcelona until 2022.
He is married to the famous singer Shakira. He is raising two children.
On June 4, 2018, the coaching staff of the Spanish national team, led by Julen Lopetegui, included Gerard Piquet in the team for the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Gerard Pique awards
Team achievements:
Spain national team:
World Champion: 2010
European Champion: 2012
FC Manchester United:
Champion of England: 2007-08
Super Cup Winner: 2007
Football League Cup Winner: 2005-06
UEFA Champions League Winner: 2007-08
FC Barcelona:
Champion of Spain: 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18
Spanish Cup Winner: 2008-09, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18
Spanish Super Cup Winner: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016
UEFA Champions League Winner: 2008-09, 2010-11, 2014-15
UEFA Super Cup Winner: 2009, 2011, 2015
Club FIFA Winner: 2009, 2011, 2015
Personal awards:
Youngest Player of the Year in Spain: 2008-09
The best defender of the Spanish championship: 2009-10
FIFA World Symbolic Team: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016
UEFA Symbolic Team of Europe: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015
FIFPro World Symbolic Team: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016
UEFA Champions League symbolic team: 2009-10, 2010-11
Team of the Year according to L "Équipe: 2010, 2011
ESM symbolic team of Europe: 2011, 2014
Symbolic team of the 2012 European Championship according to UEFA
Football player Gerard Piquet, whose biography, sports career and personal life is presented in our article, is the central defender of Barcelona and the Spanish national team. During his career, he became the world and European champion, and as part of Barça he was the owner of many titles both in the country and at the international level.
Childhood and youth
Gerard Pique, whose photo can be seen in our article, was born in February 1987 in Barcelona. Despite the fact that his parents had nothing to do with sports, the boy's future fate was predetermined almost immediately. The fact is that his grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, was the vice-president of the main club of Catalonia.
For the first time, Gerard Piquet began to tinker with the ball at the age of one and a half, which was very pleasing to his grandfather. At the age of 10, the future Spanish football star was admitted to the La Masia football school - the legendary Barça academy.
Having played for various youth teams of the Catalan club, Gerard Piqué in 2001 began playing for the second team, Barcelona B. Here his partners were such modern legends of world football as Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas.
Start of a professional career
In 2004, the young Gerard Piquet fell into the sphere of interests of the English club Manchester United, and soon the defender moved to England.
Unfortunately, the young footballer was given very little playing time, and two years later he was loaned to the Spanish “Zaragoza”. Here he easily made his way to the main squad, played 22 matches, in which he scored 2 goals.
After returning to England, the defender rarely appeared on the field again - he played only 13 matches during the season.
Return to Barcelona
Since Gerard Piquet was never able to gain a foothold at Manchester United, he was sold to his native Barcelona for 5 million euros. As part of the “blue garnet” began the ascent of the defender to world football glory.
In the first season, he was entrenched at the base, and then became one of the leaders of the team. That year, Gerard with Barcelona won the Champions League, became the champion of Spain, the owner of the Cup and Super Cup of the country, as well as the triumphant of the Club World Championship.
In addition to reliable play in defense, Piquet is also distinguished by high performance for a central defender. In less than 10 seasons spent at Barcelona, Gerard managed to score 39 goals in 440 matches. Today he has become a true legend of the Catalan club.
Piquet became the champion of Spain six times, won the Cup and the Super Cup of the country 5 times, won the UEFA Champions League and the Club World Cup three times.
National team career
The high speed, good performance and high growth of Gerard Pique did not go unnoticed by the then coach of the Spanish national team Vicente del Bosque. In 2009, he was called up for a friendly against England. After that, he participated in the Confederation Cup, where he became the bronze medalist of the tournament.
The finest hour for the young defender came next year. At the World Championships in South Africa, he became the winner of the tournament as part of the Red Fury. Gerard Pique took part in all the matches of his national team and was one of the best in the undefeated Spanish team.
Two years later, at Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland, the footballer became the permanent leader of his national team's defense. Largely thanks to his excellent defensive play, Spain became the champion of the continent again. In six matches, the opponents were able to score only one goal. At the end of Euro Piqué was included in the symbolic team of the tournament.
At the disastrous World Cup for Spain in 2014 in Brazil, Gerard played in one match in which he suffered a thigh injury. He never entered the field again at that tournament.
At Euro 2016 in France, the central defender played in 4 matches and scored the winning goal against the Czech national team. After the end of the tournament, Gerard Piquet announced that he would complete his performances for the national team after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
As of April 2018, the defender has played 96 matches with the Spanish national team, in which he scored five goals.
Personal life of the famous football player
In 2010, while filming the video for the song Waka Waka, which became the official anthem of the world championship in South Africa, Gerard Piquet met the performer of this composition - the famous singer Shakira. Soon after, the girl began to be noticed in the stadiums during the games of the Spanish national team, and the paparazzi began to suspect that there was a love affair between her and the football player.
At first, both Gerard Pique and Shakira, who at that time lived in a civil marriage with the son of the Argentine ex-president, denied everything. But the next year, the singer broke off her relationship, and soon the lovers openly declared their feelings.
In 2013, Shakira gave Gerard their first child, Milan, and two years later they had another son, Sasha. The couple have been together for almost 10 years, but they still have not legalized their relationship. Because of this, rumors often appear about the separation of Pique and Shakira, but each time such news turns out to be fictitious.
In 2017, the Spanish footballer finally proposed to his beloved, so the long-awaited wedding of Gerard Pique and Shakira is expected soon.
Gerard Piqué is a renowned center-back for Barcelona and the Spanish national team. This footballer was a multiple winner of European, world and national championships.
Childhood
He was born in February 1987 in the capital of Catalonia in the family of the rector of the medical university Montserrat Bernabeu and a private lawyer John Piquet. Gerard began his football career as a child under the supervision of his own grandfather Amador Bernabeu, the vice-president of Barcelona.
The kid began to play football from the age of one and a half. The ten-year-old began to study at the La Masia academy, which is considered one of the best football schools in the world. After graduation, Piquet began to enter the field as part of the Barcelona B junior team.
"Manchester United"
17-year-old Gerard got to Manchester United. This renowned club has signed a contract with Piquet, which was the first in his professional football career.
Piquet entered the field for the first time with Manchester in the fall of 2004. He replaced John O'Shea in the English League Cup game. At this time, Gerard played in the main and reserve teams of Manchester United. Thanks to Piquet's excellent performance, the contract with him was extended for another five years.
Barcelona
In 2006, the management of his team sent Gerard to the Spanish club Zaragoza for a year, and two years later the footballer was sold to FC Barcelona. The transfer amount was $ 5 million.
Since 2009, Piqué has been the leader of the renowned Catalan team. With him, "Barca" became the owner of the King's Cup, won the Champions League and the Spanish championship, which previously could not be done by any team in the country at the same time.
Spain squad
The debut of the football player in the national team took place in February 2009 during a friendly game with the British, who were defeated by the Spaniards.
In 2010, Piquet attended the World Football Championship in South Africa. His team beat the Dutch in the final game of the championship.
Two years later, the Spanish national team took part in the European championship and again won the championship title, defeating the Italians in the final. When drawing up the symbolic team of the championship, Piquet was included in it.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was mostly played on the bench, as he had hip problems at the time. He entered the field only in the first game of the group stage, but his team lost to the Dutch.
In the fall of 2016, the footballer announced that he would leave the national team at the end of the world championship in 2018. At the end of winter of the same year, Piquet continued his contract with Barça for another four years.
Personal life
On the set of the video clip for the official anthem of the 2010 world football championship "Waka Waka" Gerard met the Latin American singer Shakira, who three years later gave birth to his son Milan, and a little later the couple had another boy Sasha. Piquet and Shakira never got married, but they continue to live together. It is worth noting that the famous Spanish footballer is ten years younger than the world pop music star.
Gerard Pique with Shakira and children Business
In 2017, Gerard externally graduated from the American Business School at Harvard. In addition, the footballer is studying economics at ESADE School.
He partially owns convenience meat and eyeglass companies. Carles Puyol is his business partner for an isotonic beverage company.
In 2017, the footballer began hosting a television program in which he interviews his colleagues. Within its framework, Piquet talked with Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Luis Suarez, Neymar and other famous football players.
Spanish footballer, central defender of FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Biography of Gerard Piquet
Gerard Pique Bernabeu(Gerard Piqué Bernabéu) was born on February 2, 1987 in Barcelona, Spain, in the family of a famous lawyer and businessman John Piqué and doctor Moserrat Bernabéu, rector of the medical institute specializing in spinal injuries. Ros Gerard in the company of his younger brother Mark.
Gerard's grandfather, the vice-president of FC Barcelona, Amador Bernabeu, upon learning about the birth of his grandson, immediately went to the office of the “blue garnet” and made the boy a member of the football club, thus predetermining his fate. From about a year and a half, Piquet began to take an interest in football. As a ten-year-old boy, he joined the Barcelona youth team and spent seven years at the club's academy. From 2001 to 2004, Piquet played for Barcelona B. It was then that he began performing with Cesc Fabregas, who became his close friend, and Lionel Messi.
Sports career of Gerard Pique
In 2004, 17-year-old Gerard, who fell into the zone of interest of the management of Manchester United, signed a contract with this club, for which he made his debut in October 2004 in the English League Cup match against Crewe Alexandre, who eventually lost to the Mancunians. 3: 0. The Catalan, who immediately took the role of the central defender in March 2006 in the framework of the English Championship against West Ham United, played in the position of the right back.
Having moved to the team under the leadership of coach Sir Alex Ferguson, who had attracted the future football star Cristiano Ronaldo to his FC a year earlier, Piquet noted that it was very difficult for him to take this step, but after a while he realized that he was not mistaken.
Gerard Piqué: “It was the most difficult decision in my whole life. However, now, looking back, I can see what benefit it has brought me. This tough decision changed me a lot as a football player and, above all, as a person. "
Although successful games for the main and reserve teams granted Piquet a contract with United until the summer of 2009, he, having played 23 official matches in the English camp, signed a contract with Barcelona in the late spring of 2008, where by the end of the season he was thoroughly entrenched in the team. , becoming one of the leaders of the club.
In February 2009, Piquet made his debut for the Spanish national team, and in the summer he took part in the Confederation Cup, where his team came in third. In July 2010, Gerard, as part of his national team, became the world champion, on July 1, 2012, along with the national team, he became the European champion. In 2013, at the Confederations Cup, the Spanish national team took the silver medal, losing in the final to the Brazilians, in a match with which Piquet earned a direct red card for a foul against Neymar.
In 2014, Gerard, who has a strong first pass and knows how to connect to attacks and fight on the second floor, extended his contract with Barcelona until 2019.
Together with the "blue garnet" Gerard won six Spanish championship titles, five Spanish Cups and Super Cups each, three Champions League and European Super Cup, the same number of world championships among clubs. Having won the UEFA Champions League alongside Manchester United and Barcelona, Piquet is one of four players to have won the main European trophy two years in a row with different FCs.
In the fall of 2016, Gerard announced that at the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup he intends to leave the national team. In January 2018, it became known that the defender will continue to play for Barcelona - he extended his contract with the club, providing for a compensation of 500 million euros, until the summer of 2022.
Personal life of Gerard Pique
At the beginning of winter 2011, the football player was noticed in the company of the famous Colombian singer and actress Shakira, who was born on the same day as Gerard, however, ten years earlier, in 1977. The Barcelona defender met his beloved one on the set of the artist's video for her single Waka Waka (This Time for Africa). The song was the official composition of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
On January 22, 2013, the couple had a son, Milan. In the summer of 2014, the tabloids started talking about celebrities expecting a new addition to the family. On January 29, 2015, the second son of Shakira and Pique, Sasha, was born in Barcelona.
Shakira on the relationship with Piquet: “We try to do our best for each other. There is a lot of love between us, because this is the basis for any family. You have to take care of this feeling and take time for it. Family is the most important thing for me in this life. Rest is secondary. Gerard supports me in everything. Music is an important part of my life, just as football is important to him. My husband and I discuss every aspect of our life, including work. "
Filmography of Gerard Pique
- Actor
- Shakira: Me enamoré (Video short 2017)
- Shakira Feat. Carlinhos Brown: La La La - Brazil 2014 (video short 2014)
- Bicycle, spoon, apple (2010) Bicicleta, cullera, poma
Gerard Pique is a footballer whom fate took away from his hometown and club, but then allowed him to return to become one of the best players of our time. And now Piquet defends the colors of his home club, although at an early age he left it and managed to play for two other teams.
But this time the footballer returned to his club for good and is not going to leave there.
Underestimated talent
Gerard Piquet was born in Barcelona in 1987, and his family was written to become a football player, as his grandfather was a great and famous president of the local who is at all times one of the strongest in Spain. And young Piquet entered the football academy of the club, where he grew into a young talent. But when the guy was 17 years old, his abilities were noticed abroad - “Manchester United” decided to buy Piquet for a little more than 5 million euros. Then the leadership of “Barcelona” did not know what mistake he was making.
Flourishing at Manchester
Manchester United were considered an even bigger formidable force in the European arena, which is why Gerard Piquet was happy to be a part of such a club at such an early age. But it was too early to rejoice - naturally, the young footballer did not get a place either in the base or in the reserve, but played only in the reserve - after all, “Manchester United” was one of the strongest clubs in Europe, so a 17-year-old boy on the field would have looked completely inappropriate.
In 2006, when Piquet turned 19 years old, the management of the “red devils” decided not to marinate such talent in the reserve team, but to send him to gain experience in his homeland, just not to Barcelona, but to a smaller club, so that he would have a guaranteed game practice.
Homecoming
Of course, Gerard Piquet did not want to leave Manchester, even on loan. He knew that fifty percent of the time this meant a further sale, so he had no desire to leave the club even for a year. But for his football development it was the best way out, so he spent the next season at Zaragoza. There he constantly appeared in the starting lineup and showed excellent playing qualities, but this was not enough to stay in Manchester. At the end of the loan, Gerard was given another chance to prove himself, but the player seemed to the management of the English club clearly unsuitable. However, this year the Spaniard managed to win the English Championship, the English Super Cup and even the Champions League with the club, after which they decided to part with him. Imagine Piquet's happiness when he found out that he could return to his native club, because there he was not at all considered unsuitable. Barcelona paid the 5 million that Manchester United transferred to them four years ago and got the rights to the still young defender.
We can say with confidence that the "red devils" are still from the realization that they have missed such a magnificent defender. Now that they are going through a rather impressive crisis, a player like Piquet would be very useful to them. But fate turned out differently, and in fact, for a symbolic payment, Piquet moved back to Barcelona.
Armored spaniard
From the very first season, from the very return to his native club, Gerard Piquet, whose biography took a new round, got a place in the starting lineup and did not disappoint. He has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate incredibly reliable and confident play, and his defensive performance is one of the main reasons Barcelona concede so few goals. Piquet has spent the sixth consecutive season at the Catalan club, and during this time, together with the team, he won an incredible number of trophies: 3 national championships, 2 Spanish Cups, 4 Spanish Super Cups, in the international arena he lifted two Champions League cups and one Super Cup over his head. UEFA, and has also added two world club titles to its collection. Thus, we can safely say that Gerard Piquet is a footballer who found his home after returning from a long trip to other clubs.
And everyone is absolutely sure that he will never go on such a trip again, since Barcelona is a second family for him.
Champion everywhere
But Piquet has managed to achieve great results not only in the club, but also in the Spanish national team, for which he has been playing since 2008. It was in that year that he made his debut in the national team, but due to lack of experience did not go to the European Championship. But together with his national team in 2010 and 2012, he won both the World Championship and the European Championship, which was an extremely important achievement for him. Moreover, as compensation for not participating in Euro 2008, he was taken in 2009, which the Spanish national team successfully won. In total, by the age of 27, Gerard Pique has 50 official matches for the Spanish national team, in which he is an indispensable part of the team, however, as in Barcelona. Together with the last five years, they instilled fear in all the strikers, speaking together both in “Barça” and in the Spanish national team.
A player like Piquet would be useful to any team, but his heart is now forever blue-garnet.
Star duo
However, the heart of a football player is not only occupied by football, because he has a beloved woman. Moreover, this is an unusual couple, because it consists of two stars - Shakira and Gerard Pique. The couple's son was born quite recently, in January 2013. The kid got an unusual name - Milan. But at the same time, there is a special zest in the relationship of a star couple, because they are not married. Since Shakira officially announced in 2011 that she was meeting with Gerard, the world community froze in anticipation of the wedding. But the wedding never followed. The birth of Milan, it would seem, should have pushed the couple to create an official family, but Shakira and Gerard Pique do not think so. A wedding, in their opinion, is optional, and marriage is a rather boring and everyday surplus. Therefore, the couple continues to live in perfect harmony with their little son, in the photographs they look incredibly happy, so they have nowhere to rush. Especially considering that both Shakira and Piquet lead an active star life - Shakira constantly gives concerts, while Piquet has training almost every day, and every week there is one or even two important matches.