Barcelona’s much-decorated defender Gerard Pique has spoken many times that Barcelona would be his last club. After spending so many years at his boyhood club, he wouldn’t want to curtail his playing days at a lesser team. Well, now is the time to see if he was being serious.Just last year, when Ronald Koeman was still in charge, he said that he would gladly leave if the coach told him new blood is required to make the team successful again – and, even more significantly, that he would never remain at Barca to sit on the bench. If he’s not good enough to start, he will retire.##NAJAVA_MECA_6651469##Ahead of this season, Barcelona brought in two centre-backs in Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde, with two capable youngsters Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo waiting for their chance to play. That leaves the once-indispensable Pique on the fringes of the first-team setup.To make things worse for Xavi’s team, Pique is one of the club’s highest earners – making his stay at Camp Nou hardly justifiable. As a result, everyone at Barca now wishes Pique keeps his word and leaves.Bench duty for Pique, Busquets and Alba (©AFP)According to writings in the Spanish press, Xavi is determined to get rid of the old players like Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Some will retire, some will find new clubs and make way for young, hungry talent to try and generate a new side that could compete with Real Madrid for La Liga titles.Neither of Pique, Busquets and Alba got off the bench in Barca’s 3-0 win over Elche at the weekend. It shows that they are on borrowed time and that this will be their final season at the Catalan club.
