Gerard Pique has announced he will retire at the age of 35 and Barcelona's match against Almeria on Saturday will be his last at Camp Nou.
The defender established himself as a Barca and Spain legend after returning to his homeland from Manchester United in 2008.
Pique has fallen out of favour under Xavi this season and the centre-back on Thursday revealed that he has decided to call time on his illustrious career.
He has won eight LaLiga titles and the Champions League three times during his time with the Catalan giants, while he has also lifted the FIFA Club World Cup on three occasions and the Copa del Rey seven times.
Pique also experienced glory at international level, winning the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship two years later as a key member of a magnificent Spain side.
Pique was booed by Barcelona fans at Camp Nou in the recent 3-0 victory over Villarreal, with head coach Xavi and former team-mate Andres Iniesta both defending him afterwards.
The negative reaction was believed to be down to Pique's part in the costly 3-3 Champions League draw with Inter, and he referenced the discussion around him in his announcement.
In a video posted on his social media, Pique said: "The last few weeks, months, lots of people have been talking about me.
"Until now, I haven't said anything. But now, I want to be the one talking about me.
"Like many of you, I've always been a Barca fan. I was born into a football-loving family of Barca fans. From a very young age I didn't want to become a football player, I wanted to be a Barca player.
"I've been thinking a lot about that kid recently, about what little Gerard would have thought if he'd been told that all his dreams would come true. That he would make it to Barca first team, that he would win every trophy possible, that he would become European champion and world champion. That he would play alongside the best players in history, that he would make friends for life.
"It's been 25 years since I joined Barca. I left, and I came back. Football has given me everything, Barca has given me everything. You, Culers, have given me everything.
"I want to tell you that I've decided that now is the time to bring this journey to its end. I've always said that there would not be any other team after Barca, and that's how it will be. This Saturday's game will be my last at Camp Nou.
"I will become a regular fan, I will support the team.
"I will pass my love for Barca to my children, like my family did with me. And you know me, sooner or later, I'll be back. I'll see you at Camp Nou. Long live Barca, always."
Pique recently split from his wife, Colombian pop star Shakira. He has a host of off-field interests through the investment group he founded, Kosmos Holding.
Man City's 'lies' could result in 'serious' punishment, says expert Maguire
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty on all counts of their 115 charges, that it should be reflected in their punishment.
The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.
If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.
City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, which started in 2009 following the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover and went on until 2018.
The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.
City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.
The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.
City did, however, win their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges.
Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
The Toffees were deducted 10 points, reduced to six for the three-year period from 2021-22 for losses of £19.5million over the £105m permitted threshold.
Meanwhile, Forest, who were initially docked six points, saw theirs brought down to four after breaching the permitted £61m threshold by £34.5m for the three-year period from 2022-23. Both clubs retained Premier League status last term despite this.
However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be reflected on what was handed to both Everton and Forest.
"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.
"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.
"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."
Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.
City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever.
Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.
"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.
"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.
"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."
Saint Martin stun Saint Lucia 4-0 in Group B as Haiti remain perfect in Group C of League B
Haiti extended their unbeaten run with a 5-3 win over Aruba, while Saint Martin stunned Saint Lucia 4-0 as both teams ended the October window on a high in their respective League B Concacaf Nations League groups on Monday.
Keelan Lebon (8th and 45th), Sacha Barakat (26th) and Pierre-Bertrand Arne (62nd) did the damage for Saint Martin at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, as they secured their first win of the campaign. Despite the win, Saint Martin remain at the foot of Group B on three points and in danger of being relegated to League C.
Saint Lucia continue to lead the standings on nine points, followed by Curacao (seven points), who edged third-placed Grenada (four points) 1-0 courtesy of Juninho Bacuna’s 30th-minute strike in the curtain-raiser of the double header.
Haiti didn’t have things all their way in an eight-goal thriller against Aruba at the Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadium in Oranjestad.
Five different scorers, Danley Jean Jacques (16th), Don Louicius (42nd), Duckens Nazon (66th), Fabrice Picault (76th), and Frantzdy Pierrot (89th), got on the scoresheet for Haiti, who have now netted 18 goals, the most of any team in the Nations League.
They continue to sit pretty atop Group C on maximum 12 points from four games, with a League A promotion well in sight. Aruba, who got their goals from Rovien Ostiana (14th and 20th) and Jayden Kruydenhof (78th), is on the cusp of relegation as they remain pointless.
Earlier, Puerto Rico, through goals from Gerald Diaz (45th) and Ricardo Rivera (83rd), registered a 2-1 win over Sint Maarten in the curtain-raiser.
The win moved Puerto Rico into second on six points, with a slightly better goal-difference to Sint Maarten (six points), whose goal came from Quinton Christina (54th).
Scaloni: Martinez deserves Ballon d'Or 'more than anyone'
Lionel Scaloni believes Lautaro Martinez deserved the Ballon d'Or "more than anyone" after his stellar 2024.
The forward excelled for club and country this year, earning his place on the 30-man shortlist for this year's prize.
Martinez topped Serie A's goalscoring charts as Inter won their 20th Scudetto last season, netting 24 goals in 33 matches, eight more than his closest rival, Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic.
His 0.81 goals per 90 minutes was the best of any player in the division, while he outperformed his expected goals (xG) of 17.64.
He carried that form into the Copa America, scoring five goals to win the Golden Boot despite playing just 221 minutes as Argentina won the competition for the second consecutive edition.
Martinez's tally was the joint-best by an Argentine in the Copa America since the turn of the century, equalling Lionel Messi in 2016 and Juan Roman Riquelme in 2007.
And Scaloni believes those feats should put the 27-year-old among the favourites.
"Lautaro deserves the Ballon d'Or more than anyone," Scaloni said at a press conference.
"He has had a spectacular year. [At the Copa America] he scored in the final, and he was top scorer. I hope it can be given to him."
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