Pique heading back to Barcelona
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Spanish giants Barcelona have agreed terms with Manchester United to sign defender Gerard Pique on a four-year deal.
The transfer will see the 21-year-old rejoin the Catalan giants, who he left to join United in 2004 at the age of 17.
He is set to sign a contract with the Nou Camp outfit on Tuesday afternoon.
A statement on the Barcelona website read: "The player will this afternoon sign a contract that will link him to FC Barcelona until June 30 2012 and which will include a buy-out clause of £39.9million (50 million euros).
"With this transfer Gerard Pique returns to Barca, the club in which he began his career as a player between 1997 and 2004, when he left to join Manchester United."
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sigh.. he's a good player leh.. in FM at least
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Piqué: It Is A Dream Come True
Gerard Piqué could not hide his delight after completing his return to Barcelona on Tuesday four years after leaving to join Manchester United because he felt he had more chance of making it in England.
The Catalan central defender admits that he always dreamed of returning to Camp Nou one day to play for his childhood club and cannot yet believe that it has happened.
After rising through the youth team ranks at Camp Nou, Piqué opted to try his luck at Manchester United, but after failing to dislodge Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic, jumped at the chance to go back home.
“It is a dream to return to Barça. When I left I thought it would be very difficult to come back but now the dream is a reality," he told Barça TV.
“Coming here was my first and only option. If there was a chance I had to try and once Barça and Manchester came to an agreement, it was full steam ahead.
"This is a big move for me and I was very nervous before actually signing the contract in the club's offices because I knew that I would be pulling on a Barça shirt again."
Having come full circle, Piqué believes that he is returning to Barça a better player for his experience in England, where he certainly had some successful times.
“As a player you grow a lot, in a personal and football sense. In the latter aspect you learn a lot from being surrounded by top level players," he continued.
"With Manchester we won the Champions League and that was an unforgettable experience, and an experience I hope I can repeat in a Barça shirt." -
Bye bye Pique......................
