Gerard Piqué's toughest spell to date

Until not so long ago it could be said that Gerard Piqué was the coolest guy in Spain. A list of titles with Barça and the Spanish national team, happy husband of a celebrity, businessman, promoter of a new Davis Cup, notable interpreter in a point somewhere between the harsh Catalan demands and the old commitment to ‘Madrit’; ashamed in his day that President Rajoy did not speak English.

But time devours its creatures. I learned that on my first stroll through the Prado Museum. Beyond the misfortune of his marriage, which has affected so many, Piqué is now suspected of many things. Of earning too much; of abusing his friendship with ‘Rubi’, who treats him as ‘Geri’, while they share ‘the sticks’ that Saudi Arabia gives him for the Spanish Super Cup; of mental dispersion in his footballing world that demands so much in exchange for being paid so well, a question that Xavi, yesterday his team-mate, today his boss, has already mentioned to him, as we have been told. In short, the old idol is guilty of the sins of frivolity and stupendousness, serious charges in football.

Friends in high places

He still has his footballer, the foundation on which he has built everything else; his personality, his contacts, his greatness. Without his status as an out-of-the-ordinary footballer, it would be difficult to maintain relationships with Ibai Llanos, Rakuten, Kosmos, Rubiales and Xavi.

Piqué moves into his mid to late thirties threatened by recurring injuries. He is not Superman, but he is also not an incurable cripple. It is enough for him to do what his coach and former team-mate ask of him, to take care of his physique, keep distractions away and work on the aspect of his life that made him great.