Pique lashes out at former Barça presidential candidate after tweets on Dembele contract

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has aimed a dig at former presidential candidate Toni Freixa after his comments regarding the Ousmane Dembele contract saga.

After having been in talks over an extension for months, the Frenchman refused to sign a new deal, insisting that he will consider penning a new contract only if his demands were met by Barça.

Dembele has spent over four years at the club and has hardly lived up to the expectations that came with the Blaugrana’s massive investment in him.

Pointing that out on his social media account, journalist Alfredo Martinez criticised the 24-year-old for his outrageous contract demands.

In response, Freixa seemed to defend the ex-Borussia Dortmund star’s stance on the matter, stating that the market dictates the demands, insisting that when other clubs are willing to pay more, it makes sense for the player to ask for the same amount at Barcelona.

No generalices con el “así son los jugadores”. Es como si yo dijera “así son los candidatos, no pagan a sus colaboradores”.

— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) December 29, 2021

He then went on to add that it was only natural for Dembele to reject the Catalan giants’ offer, stating that no player would willingly reduce his salary so that the club can sign and register a different star who plays in the same position.

At this point, one of Barcelona’s captains, Gerard Pique, decided to interject, aiming a dig at Freixa’s statements, saying: “Don’t generalize with ‘that’s how the players are’. It’s as if I were to say ‘that’s how candidates are, they don’t pay their collaborators’.”

Pique, in his comments, alluded to the fact that Freixa had not paid his employers during his campaign for the Barcelona presidential election. It was reported that he owed his workers around €100,000 which he refused to pay after his campaign funds had run out.