Gerard Pique breaks his silence: “Football belongs to the fans”

Right before the announcement of the European Super League’s suspension, veteran defender Gerard Pique became the first Barcelona player to voice out against the ESL project via social media. The project received a tremendous amount of backlash, which led to many top clubs withdrawing from the league and subsequent suspension of the operation.

Pique stated on his Twitter that “Football belongs to the fans. Today more than ever,” regarding all the chaos surrounding the Super League. A clear indication that he is against the prospect of the project, spearheaded by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.

While Barcelona have been fairly quiet on the matter, Pique seems to have spoken out, joining many other big names in football like Kevin De Bruyne, alongside the English clubs sudden withdrawal from the breakaway competition, leading to a domino effect.

The Super League has largely been viewed as an attack on the very fundamentals of football, taking away the opportunity and justice of fair competition. After outrage from the fans, governing bodies in football and now also the players, it is not difficult to see why it has been indefinitely scrapped.

Even though they are technically still part of the project, multiple reports state that Barcelona will soon also be able to withdraw from the competition. The club’s delegate members have demanded a referendum, which is reportedly a clause that would allow a vote to revoke Barcelona’s agreement to join the ESL.

Under El Chiringuito’s tweet announcing the slow collapse of the ESL, Pique was also quick to reply with his typical no-nonsense wit, attacking them for publicising Perez’s greedy exploits.

“Yesterday a party, today they are sunk. Florentino’s Chiringuito,” said the 34-year old defender. A response which was met by raucous appreciation.