{"id":779381,"date":"2024-01-10T14:44:42","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T14:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/?p=779381"},"modified":"2024-01-10T14:44:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T14:44:42","slug":"gerard-pique-comes-out-of-retirement-i-missed-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/football\/gerard-pique-comes-out-of-retirement-i-missed-football","title":{"rendered":"Gerard Piqu\u00e9 comes out of retirement: \u201cI missed football\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One year after retiring as a player, Gerard Piqu\u00e9 is set to make his debut as a coach. A new adventure for the former defender.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former FC Barcelona<\/a> player, known for his initiatives such as the Davis Cup revamp and the launch of the Kings League, shared this news on social media on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerard Piqu\u00e9 returns as a coach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Piqu\u00e9’s return to the football world comes just one year after ending his player career in January 2023. He announced his change of role by posting a message on his X account, specifying that he is heading towards a coaching career. “It’s a new year, and after careful consideration, I have decided to return to football<\/a>. I miss it a lot. This time, it won’t be as a player. It will be as a coach. I will give you more details at the end of the week,” wrote the Spaniard, who will soon celebrate his 37th birthday (on February 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gerard<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 2010 World Cup champion and Euro 2012 winner with La Roja did not specify which team he would be coaching. Since the end of his playing career, the former partner of Shakira has stood out by launching the Kings League, a hybrid competition bringing together former football legends and internet personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerard Piqu\u00e9, a three-time UEFA Champions League<\/a> winner with FC Barcelona (2009, 2011, 2015), had also undertaken a revamp of the Davis Cup in recent years through his company Kosmos. However, the partnership with the International Tennis Federation ended last year after five unsuccessful years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owner of FC Andorra since 2018, the Catalan led the club from the Principality to its first participation in the Spanish second division, making it the first non-Spanish <\/a>club to achieve professional status in this category. Although the club narrowly missed out on promotion playoff qualification in the previous season, it is currently in the 19th position, holding the top spot among non-relegation teams, in the fight for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerard Piqu\u00e9, a resourceful businessman<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However, this position does not fully reveal the ambitious project envisaged by Gerard Piqu\u00e9<\/a> to propel the club to the elite. His approach includes a strong emphasis on training, substantial investments in infrastructure, and even buying promotion to a higher division. The former defender spares no means, reflecting his journey as an investor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gerard<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is in this context that Piqu\u00e9’s character assumes a less enviable facet, that of an unscrupulous businessman with asserted contradictions. Recently criticized by Stan Wawrinka and Gilles Moretton<\/a> for contributing to the abolition of one of the most iconic tennis competitions, the Davis Cup, the former Barcelona defender seeks to change the sports landscape in his own way. He actively participates in the rise of the King’s League, aiming to “revolutionize traditional sports.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although his league experiences undeniable success, bringing together YouTubers, former football legends<\/a>, and amateur players, businessman Piqu\u00e9 does not have unanimous support. Through his company Kosmos, the Spaniard has not only destroyed a historic competition in another sport but has also altered certain aspects of football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contributing to the relocation of the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia<\/a>, Piqu\u00e9 allowed his company to receive a bonus of 24 million from the federation, led at the time by former president Luis Rubiales, at least until 2029. Despite this, last summer, during the rise of Saudi football, Piqu\u00e9 did not hesitate to criticize the Gulf country’s policies, stating that “doing things for money” was not his “way of seeing things.” This is how this unique character treads the fields to give a new trajectory to his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One year after retiring as a player, Gerard Piqu\u00e9 is set to make his debut as a coach. A new adventure for the former defender.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":779390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[584],"class_list":["post-779381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-gerard-pique"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/piquet-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfmZoa-3gKF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":779388,"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779381\/revisions\/779388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afriquesports.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}