Gerard Pique has slammed UEFA’s decision to punish Barcelona for pro-Catalan independence flags being waved during last month’s Champions League final.
Speaking at his first Press conference of the new season on Sunday night, the defender also reflected on last season’s historic treble, his chances of claiming the captaincy in light of Xavi Hernandez’s departure, Pedro Rodriguez’s importance to the club, David de Gea’s potential switch to Real Madrid, La Blaugrana’s 2015-16 preparations and Thomas Vermaelen’s return to fitness.
“I feel that I’ve done what I set out to do when I said I wanted to be an important player and help the club win trophies on an individual and collective level,” he said at a Press conference.
“It was a perfect season, but now we must move on and win three more titles in the next six months.
“We can achieve a sextet, it’s our objective. With the squad that we have, we can aspire to do great things.
“[The captaincy] is something that I’m not losing sleep over and I don’t consider it an obsession.
“There’s the possibility [of the captaincy], and I’d love it, but we’ll see what happens, although I’d like to be the captain in the future.
“I understand that a player like Pedro wants to have more minutes. He’s been a world champion, won many trophies in Barcelona and behind three of the best players in the world.
“I hope he stays because he’s an amazing player and gives very good performances. If he does go, he’ll weaken the squad because he has a lot of quality.
“De Gea seems like a great goalkeeper to me because he plays for [Manchester] United and the [Spanish] national team, but I can’t say if he’s Madrid material because I don’t play for them.
“The most important thing [before the start of the season] is to find our rhythm, and we’re doing well ahead of the UEFA Super Cup.
“A tour of this kind is difficult but we could see that we were fine against United. Playing against teams like these increases your odds of losing.
“Vermaelen’s of very high standard and can give us a lot. I hope he doesn’t suffer another injury this season.
“He is very good at bringing the ball out [from deep], a good passer and defends well.
“[The UEFA punishment] is unfair and I hope the club act as they must.”
