Barcelona can reportedly terminate the contract of Gerard Pique at the end of the season if he does not play in 35 percent of matches this season.
Since the arrivals of Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen from Sevilla and Chelsea, the former Manchester United star has been a peripheral figure at Camp Nou.
Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia are also ahead of Pique in the pecking order, and as a result, the 35-year-old has made just two outings for Barcelona in all competitions this season.
Pique came on as a substitute in Barcelona’s 5-1 Champions League thrashing of Viktoria Plzen on September 7, and he played the entire 90 minutes against Cadiz three days later in a 4-0 La Liga win.
However, the centre-back was back among the substitutes for the weekend’s win against Elche, and he was allegedly embroiled in a dressing room argument with Xavi earlier this month.
According to reports, Xavi overheard Pique complaining about his lack of playing time after Barcelona’s Champions League loss to Bayern Munich, to which the Blaugrana manager answered, “And you’re going to play even less now.”
Barcelona To Terminate Gerard Pique Contract Next Year?
Pique’s contract with Barcelona expires in 21 months, and he was expected to retire with the Catalan giants, but his fate may be out of his control.
According to Mundo Deportivo, if Pique does not play in 35% of Barcelona’s matches this season, the club has the option to terminate his contract and let him walk out the door for free.
Xavi informed Pique in the summer that earning regular starts for Barcelona this season would be difficult, but the Spain international accepted the challenge and wanted to battle for his spot.
However, Pique is now losing that fight, and Barcelona now have a ready-made alternative in the form of Athletic Bilbao’s Inigo Martinez.
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Pique has scored 53 goals and contributed 15 assists in 609 games for Barcelona since his return to Catalonia in the summer of 2008, placing him fifth all-time behind Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, and Xavi.
Over the last 14 years, the Spain international has won 30 major titles with Barcelona, including three Champions League wins, three Club World Cups, and eight La Liga titles.
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