Shakira reveals Pique’s intense relationship with Guardiola

After spending four seasons with the Red Devils and winning the World Cup with Spain, the player returned to his hometown club and spent 14 years at the Nou Camp.

The Spaniard went on to become one of Barcelona's best defenders of all time and decided to hang up his boots last November.

The pop star singer Shakira who was Pique’s partner before splitting up with the Barcelona legend revealed how close he was with Pep Guardiola and how he almost returned to Manchester United.

Shakira has explained how close Pique was with Guardiola at Barcelona and how he left the club due to a bad relationship.

According to El Pais, she admitted during her court appearance that not everything between Pique and Barcelona was as perfect as it seemed.

Just five months earlier, he and his pop star girlfriend Shakira had ended their 11-year marriage, which had produced two children.

During an interview which was reported by the Sun, she said, “Gerard had a rather complicated relationship with Barca.

“With Guardiola, he had a super-tense relationship, of ‘you go or I go’. It was a situation that made him suffer a lot.”

Pique stayed at the Nou Camp as Guardiola departed them in 2012 despite the supposed ultimatum.

When Luis Enrique was appointed manager in 2014, Shakira further asserted that Pique thought about going back to Manchester United.

According to her, Pique started to think about his other choices after Enrique informed him that he would be seated on the bench a lot.

Pique, however, has talked kindly of his time spent with the Red Devils, saying, “I learned so much during my time at United.

“Sharing a dressing room with Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs at such a young age was an amazing experience. 

“I didn’t play as much as I would have liked but it was a master's degree in development both as a player and a person.”