Pique on his salary reduction following 4-2 win over Sociedad: “I did what I had to”

Barcelona second captain Gerard Pique spoke to interviewers after the club’s opening La Liga victory. The first game of the post-Messi era could not have gone in better fashion for the Blaugranas.

Gerard Pique opened the scoring on the night with a wonderful header in the first half. As if scripted, it came off a sumptuous assist from Memphis Depay, the player who was registered only courtesy of a massive pay cut by the goalscorer.

Needless to say, the first question posed to the captain was that of his gesture to the club by taking a huge salary cut. To this, he replied, “I was born here, I was raised here, I have lived almost all my life in Barcelona. The gesture? I did what I had to. I want to point out that all the captains will do the same, I did it faster because there was a rush but they’ll do it as well.”

The No.3 was then asked about Lionel Messi’s departure and its impact on the team and performance. Pique replied by saying, “Messi is the most important player in the history of the club, but we have to continue. There is a lot of quality, we’ll be very competitive, I’m sure that we’ll fight for all the titles.”

He then went on to acknowledge the void left by the six-time Ballon d’Or winner but added that they still have their goals to achieve. He said, “Without Leo, we lose talent, but we have a goal. This year we’re going to have fun.”

Source: BarçaTV+