Former Barcelona star wants Gerard Pique to retire from national team

Bengaluru, Feb 20: Former FC Barcelona and Real Madrid player Alfonso Perez wants Gerard Pique to retire from the Spanish national team due to his political beliefs.

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Gerard Pique time and again has shown his solidarity with the Catalan independence movement and issued pro-Catalonia statements.

Pique hails from Catalunya and has played the majority of his football career for FC Barcelona. Besides representing Spain internationally he has also played unofficial friendly matches for the Catalan football team.

Now Alfonso Perez, a former Spanish international who has played for both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona has suggested that if Pique cannot detach himself from the pro-independence opinions he should refrain from wearing the Spanish jersey.

He also compared the defender to another Barcelona great Pep Guardiola who also held similar sentiments.

Speaking to Radio Marca, Perez said:"It would have been most honest if Guardiola, being such a Catalan, would have renounced the Spanish national team.

"I'm not against the Catalans. My son was born in Barcelona and if I was radical he would have been born in Madrid or Seville. I have nothing against Catalans, but I do against those pushing for independence.

"Pique is in the same situation as Guardiola. What's happening is that he's playing at the moment and when the moment arrives he will position himself as radically as Pep Guardiola. He's positioned with independence in Catalonia."

About his allegiance, Perez said: "I am honest and I've been Barca since I was young. In Valladolid we went to see Valladolid-Barca when I was nine and [former club president Josep Lluis] Nunez gave a friend of mine a banner, but not me, leaving me without one.

"When I went to Madrid at 13, I changed to Madrid and felt I identified with the team. Today I feel more identified with Madrid than Barca.

"The same thing happened with Guti and Raul, who were both Atletico Madrid supporters as kids, but professionally came to eventually love Real."

Gerard Pique earlier had confirmed that he would retire from international football after FIFA World Cup 2018.

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