Yet to Speak With Xavi Since Retirement, Gerard Pique Asks Barcelona to Be Patient With His Project

Published 11/08/2023, 6:16 AM EST

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Fans were left stunned yesterday, as Barcelona suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League. The Catalans require a point to secure their place in the knockouts. However, amidst the turmoil, an unexpected voice of support has emerged in the form of Gerard Pique. The former Barcelona center-back offered his support to boss Xavi Hernandez and affirmed his belief in the current management.

While the UCL loss against Shakhtar Donetsk was undoubtedly disappointing for fans, Pique’s words offer a sense of hope and determination to the club.

Gerard Pique confident with Xavi’s role at Barcelona

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Gerard Pique has remained silent on matters concerning FC Barcelona since he left the club last season, However, while participating in an interview recently, the former Barcelona icon spoke about his relationship with Xavi and the club president Joan Laporta. The Spaniard expressed his unwavering faith in the manager and his former teammate’s potential to steer the Barcelona project toward success.

We have to be patient with the project. Xavi knows the house and has mastered the game model. I don’t see anyone better than Xavi to take this forward,” he stated confidently. Gerard Pique also pointed out his current relationship with Xavi and surprisingly claimed that they haven’t spoken since he left the club.

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“I haven’t spoken to Xavi since I left. Well yes… on the day of the league title celebration, he invited me in case I wanted to join the celebration. With Laporta? I do speak with him, yes, and very well,” the former Barcelona captain revealed. Pique’s silence after he left the club was a matter of curiosity and concern among fans, but he quashed all the concerns with his disclosure. Meanwhile, FC Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez is not delighted with the club’s performances lately.

Xavi asks Barcelona squad to regroup

The Spaniard believes that there hasn’t been the right level of intensity in their performances in recent weeks. As Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the season in the UCL, Xavi was critical of his team. “We are at a bad point of the season, and it is showing on the pitch. We need to be self-critical because today was one of the worst games since I’ve been here. We need to regroup,” the Barcelona head coach stated.

via Reuters

Barcelona has been struggling lately, as they aren’t clinical in front of the goal. Their latest setback forces them to think about their current woes. A single point against Shakhtar would have been enough to ensure qualification for the knockout stage, but Barcwlon is still poised to progress.

The recent loss to Shakhtar might have been a hard pill to swallow, but Gerard Pique’s words resonate with hope and belief. As Pique asks for more patience from the fans and club supporters, it will be interesting to see how well Barcelona’s journey with Xavi goes.

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Barcelona will return to action once again when they host Deportivo Alaves in La Liga on November 12th, Sunday.

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Written by:

Sahil Sharma

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Sahil Sharma is a soccer writer at EssentiallySports. He's been a fan since childhood, but his love for the sport truly took off when Real Madrid won their record 10th UEFA Champions League title in 2014. That famous La Decima triumph turned him into a hardcore Madridista.
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Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra