Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué said on Wednesday that he "considered quitting the Spanish national team following criticism of his views on the Catalan independence referendum," but decided against it, according to Richard Martin of REUTERS. Piqué, who said that quitting "would play into the hands of his detractors, was jeered" during an open training session with Spain on Monday. He said, "I considered it [quitting the Spain team] but in the end you have to evaluate every option and after thinking about it for a long time I decided not to as leaving now would be letting the people who insult me win." Piqué also reiterated that he has never spoken out in favor of Catalan independence, "and simply supports the right of his home region to decide on its own future. ... People have advised me not to talk about politics but I never put myself on one side or the other, all I said was that we should vote" (
REUTERS, 10/4).
DIFFICULT SITUATION: EL PERIÓDICO reported Piqué's Barcelona and La Roja teammate, Sergio Busquets, said, "I would say this is my most difficult spell in the national team due to everything that is happening and I think it will be difficult to sort out the Piqué situation." He added, "I only dedicate myself to playing football, surely it would be better if everyone did the same" (
EL PERIÓDICO, 10/4).
