Gerard Pique has announced his retirement from football

Gerard Pique has surprisingly announced that he has retired from football. He will play his final game at the Nou Camp this weekend when Barcelona face Almeria.

Gerard Pique has been with Barcelona for 14 seasons and won several prestigious titles including winning the UEFA Champions League three times.

It will bring the curtain down on one of the great modern careers, with Pique having formed a key part of a number of great Barcelona teams in addition to having won a European Championship and the World Cup with the national side. 

Posting a video on social media announcing his shock retirement, Pique was filmed at various Barcelona landmarks including the Nou Camp as he narrates message to the club's supporters - or 'culers'. 

'Culers, I have something to tell you. The last months, weeks, lots have been talking about me,' he says. 

'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 did not want to become a football player, I wanted to play for Barca. I have been thinking a lot about that kid lately, about what little Gerard would have thought had all his dreams come true. 

'That he would make it to the Barca first team, that he would win every trophy possible. That he would become a European champion and world champion. That he would play alongside some of the best players in history, and captain the club and make friends for life. 

'It has been 25 years since I joined Barca, I left and I came back. Football has given me everything. I have always said that I would not be in any other team after I left Barca, and that is 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 at the Camp Nou. Long live Barca. Always.' 

Having joined the club at the age of five, Pique went on to become one of the great defenders in the club's history. Alongside Carlos Puyol and later Javier Mascherano, Pique formed the bedrock of a side that conquered all in front of them in Europe and domestically. 

After winning the Premier League and the Champions League with Manchester United in 2007-08 having left Barcelona, Pique returned to the club of his childhood as Pep Guardiola began his revolution.