Gerard Pique has admitted that Josep Bartomeu was one of the worst presidents he has ever had during the years he has been plying his trade at Barcelona.
Bartomeu resigned as Barcelona president a year ago after unhappy club members collected sufficient number of signatures to proceed with a vote of no confidence.
“I can’t say if he is the worst,” Pique told comedy show ‘La Sotana’.
“From what I have lived, he must be [up] there. We are all guilty, but it is true that the club have not gone where all the Catalans want. Now I am hopeful and excited. The next five or ten years will be very good for Barcelona.”
Pique went on to stand by coach Ronald Koeman following Joan Laporta’s decision to keep the Dutchman in the dugout for the 2021/22 campaign.
“Joan [Laporta] needed more time for reflection and ended up choosing Koeman,” said Pique. “Now he is the ideal coach.”
The Barcelona centre-back confirmed that he agreed on a salary adjustment and explained what has changed in his contract.
“I have given up part of the salary,” noted Pique. “My contract was ending this year but if I played X number of games it would be renewed under the same conditions as this year.
“Now the fixed [salary] and the bonuses have changed.”
Samuel Umtiti has been highly criticised for insisting on staying at Barcelona despite the club’s efforts to offload him and balance their books in summer, but Pique defended his teammate’s decision.
“[Umtiti] is fulfilling the contract with all obligations,” noted Pique.
“People have to be empathetic. The attitude is impeccable. He has never missed a training session. Another thing is who signed the contract, a president who was voted in by the members.
“Why shall we whistle at him? Most people have been in a company for 30 years and do nothing. If I were at another club, for example [Manchester] United, I would be doing the same as Umtiti. Every situation is different. I only ask people to be empathetic.”
The 34-year-old centre-back also revealed that his relationship with Pep Guardiola went through a serious crisis after Pique began dating his current wife Shakira.
“We reached an important point of tension with [Guardiola], and with the dressing room in general,” declared Pique.
The [Jose] Mourinho issue wore us out a lot. Pep wants absolute control of everything that happens.
“I start dating Shakira and the relationship with him changes. Now the relationship with [Guardiola] is perfect. I had a lot of pressure and if there was one moment I was thinking of leaving it was in 2011/12.”
