Friday 23 March 2018 19:00, UK
Gerard Pique believes Pep Guardiola lost faith in him before he left his role as Barcelona boss in 2012.
Guardiola, whose Manchester City team are currently 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League, led Barcelona to three La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and two Copa del Rey triumphs before announcing his decision to leave the club at the end of the season in April 2012.
Pique had re-joined his boyhood club from Manchester United in 2008 and went on to win the treble in his first season under Guardiola and played a pivotal role in the trophy-laden spell for Barca.
However, he claims things changed in 2012 and says his failure to commit to Guardiola's obsession with football 24 hours a day created problems.
"Everything seemed to fall apart in 2012. I don't know why. Perhaps I had lost the fear that drove me to that level. But for whatever reason, I started questioning myself. As the season went on, Pep started to lose faith in me," Pique said in The Players Tribune.
"For the first three seasons, we had a phenomenal relationship. I still revere Pep as a manager. But the truth is, it was an extremely hard time.
"He wanted his players to be obsessed with football 24 hours a day, and at that point in my life, I didn't understand it. I wasn't as committed to that philosophy. Pep simply didn't trust me anymore, and the crucial moment was when he decided not to play me against Real Madrid in the league.
"That was crushing to me. I started to think, is this it? Is the dream of playing for Barca over? Is this how fast it can go away?"
Pique believes Barcelona's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea, where a 2-2 second-leg draw saw his side eliminated, was pivotal to his future. He lasted just 26 minutes of the game after a collision with Victor Valdes, with Guardiola announcing his departure shortly afterwards.
"I woke up the next day, and I couldn't remember anything from the match. I couldn't even remember who won. I was in a complete fog," he said.
"It turns out, the match ended 2-2, and we were knocked out. Within a few days, Pep announced his departure from Barca. It felt like an era was coming to an end, and I thought that perhaps my time was up, too.
"That season really made me think about my career, and my life. It was a wake-up call. When our team was playing for it all, Pep didn't believe in me anymore. Then, when he finally turned to me, I got knocked out cold.
"Sometimes I think about what would have happened if I had woken up the next day and found out that we had gone through against Chelsea. I was out with a head injury for weeks, so I definitely wouldn't have played in the final. Maybe we would have won the Champions League.
"Maybe Pep would have decided to stay at Barca. Maybe he never would have regained his trust in me. Maybe I would be at another club right now. Instead, Tito Vilanova arrived as the manager the next season, and he gave me a chance to regain my place."
