Gerard Pique not considering retirement, working hard to convince Xavi

Earlier today, reports emerged claiming that all was not well between Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez and captain Gerard Pique. It was also stated that the Blaugrana were hoping that the veteran defender would retire at the end of the season, having fallen out of favour at the club.

Pique has been with Barça since 2008 when he returned to his boyhood club after a stint with Manchester United. The centre-back has been a permanent fixture in the side ever since, but things have taken a turn for the worse for the 35-year-old.

The centre-half struggled with injuries towards the end of the last season, and following the arrivals of Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde, he has fallen down the pecking order at Spotify Camp Nou.

Indeed, Pique is now the fifth-choice central defender at Barcelona, behind the aforementioned duo and Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia. The veteran star has played in just two matches out of the eight that the Catalans have played in all competitions (135 minutes).

Pique had previously stated that he would retire from the game if he felt that he was no longer useful for Barcelona as he has no desire to play for any other team.

However, MARCA is now reporting that despite his current situation under Xavi, Pique has no intentions of hanging up his boots at the end of the ongoing campaign.

The 35-year-old believes that he still has a lot to offer to the Catalan giants both on the pitch and off of it. And he is training extremely hard to turn things around and force his way back into Xavi’s plans at the club.

Pique is completely focused on making himself a key member of the Barça setup again and retirement is not on his mind at the moment. The club captain’s contract runs until the summer of 2024 and he plans to see it out.

Pique is not the only senior player who has found minutes hard to come by this season under Xavi, with Jordi Alba also going through the same struggles. Like the centre-back, the latter also is convinced that he can still be a vital player for Barcelona.