Barcelona Legend Pays Heartfelt Tribute to Retiring Barcelona Defender Gerard Pique

• Carles Puyol has paid tribute to Gerard Pique, after the Barcelona ace announced his retirement from football in an emotional video
• The Spanish international's final match for the Blaugrana will be this Saturday at the Camp Nou Stadium
• The former Manchester United defender has won 30 major trophies during his 14-year career at Barcelona

Barcelona legend Carles Puyol has paid a touching tribute to his former teammate Gerard Pique, after the defender announced he is to retire.

Pique is set to call time on his impressive playing career after Saturday's Spanish La Liga encounter with Almeria at Camp Nou.

The 35-year-old can boast of enviable list of honours, including eight La Liga crowns, seven Copa del Rey trophies and three Champions Leagues titles.

However, the veteran defender fell down the pecking order under Xavi Hernandez, and he was often booed by home crowd during his recent games at the home stadium.

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The ex-Manchester United defender formed a solid combo with Puyol at the heart of Barcelona defence, winning the treble in 2009, as well as the World Cup and European Cup with Spain.

The former Barcelona captain took to Twitter to hail Pique, translated as follows:

"Thank you for everything, Geri. I am in shock. Many have been unfair to you, few have defended the Barca shirt like you," Puyol wrote, via SportsMax.

"I can always say that I played alongside you, it was a privilege. I love you friend."

Pique played a whopping 615 matches for the Catalan giants across all competitions, scoring 29 goals.

He also earned 102 international caps with Spain.

Madrid fans on Pique retirement

Sports Brief earlier reported that some frustrated fans of Real Madrid are unhappy with Gerard Pique, as the Barcelona defender announced his immediate decision to retire from football.

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Pique is regarded as one of the most consistent defenders in Catalonia, having formed an instrumental part of Barcelona's golden generation, in addition to winning a European Championship and the World Cup with the national side.

However, the centre-back's shocking decision to hang his boots did not go down well with some Real Madrid supporters, who took to social media to express their displeasure.