Barcelona Coach Xavi Explains His Role in Gerard Pique’s Shock Retirement From Football

• Xavi has revealed he had an honest conversation with Gerard Pique and admits that would have inspired the defender’s decision to retire
• Gerard Pique confirmed he will retire from football after Barcelona’s upcoming league game against Almeria this weekend
• Xavi and Pique were team-mates for club and country for a number of years, winning the Champions League together at Barcelona

Barcelona manager Xavi talked openly about his private interactions with Gerard Pique prior to the defender’s announcement of his retirement on Thursday.

Champions League and World Cup-winning defender is set to play his final game for Barcelona this weekend after making more than 600 appearances in 14 years with the club.

Barcelona’s La Liga fixture against Almeria will be Pique’s last for the Spanish giants and Xavi has revealed he had spoken to the 35-year-old in the summer about his future, Daily Mirror reports.

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“We had a private conversation at the beginning of the summer. I had to explain my intentions to him and it was one of the most difficult moments I’ve had to do as a coach.

“We heard about Pique’s decision this week. Surely I have had an important weight in making this decision, but the truth is that I have to make decisions and in many situations, someone else played over Pique.”

For a lot of years, Xavi and Pique played together for both club and country as they also shared a Champions League championship with Barcelona.

Xavi admits plans to buy Pique replacement

Meanwhile, plans are already underway at Camp Nou to replace Gerard Pique at Barcelona after the defender’s sudden retirement from football.

Barcelona coach Xavi has confirmed they'll seek to buy a replacement for Pique and have already identified Athletic Club’s Inigo Martínez as the ideal candidate, Tribal Football reports.

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The Blaugrana were keen on Martínez in the summer but there was no agreement with Athletic and this deal would still only be carried out if the price is reasonable.

Pique announces retirement after stellar career

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Barcelona's Gerard Pique announced his retirement on Thursday after a decorated career, saying "the moment has come to end this journey".

The veteran defender bows out with four Champions League titles and the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with Spain.

Pique takes his leave with Barca knocked out of the Champions League for the second season running.