Pique: Pep stopped trusting me in 2012

Pique has been a fixture in the Barcelona defence for what seems like forever, and he is one of the first players that comes to mind when you think of the club. The centre-back, who started off his career in Barcelona's youth sides, left for Manchester United in 2004, before returning to his boyhood team in 2008.

Pique's first season for the Barcelona senior team also coincided with Pep Guardiola's arrival as manager of the club. The 08/09 season was the pair's debuts for Barcelona as a player and manager respectively, and they went on to win the treble in their first season.

The defender explained that for the first three seasons of his Barca career, his relationship with Guardiola went swimmingly, however, in 2012 it all went downhill. "Everything seemed to fall apart in 2012," he stated, speaking to 'The Players Tribune'. "I don't know why. Perhaps I had lost the fear that drove me to that level. But for whatever reason, I started questioning myself. As the season went on, Pep started to lose faith in me."

"For the first three seasons, we had a phenomenal relationship. I still revere Pep as a manager. But the truth is, it was an extremely hard time."

"He wanted his players to be obsessed with football 24 hours a day, and at that point in my life, I didn't understand it. I wasn't as committed to that philosophy. Pep simply didn't trust me anymore, and the crucial moment was when he decided not to play me against Real Madrid in the league.

"That was crushing to me. I started to think, Is this it? Is the dream of playing for Barca over? Is this how fast it can go away?"

Guardiola left the club in 2012, after Chelsea knocked Barca out of the Champions League in the semi-finals. Pique revealed that he barely remembers this crucial game, after he collided with Victor Valdes in the 26th minute and was forced to come off. 

"I woke up the next day, and I couldn't remember anything from the match. I couldn't even remember who won. I was in a complete fog," he said.

"It turns out, the match ended 2-2, and we were knocked out. Within a few days, Pep announced his departure from Barca. It felt like an era was coming to an end, and I thought that perhaps my time was up, too.

"That season really made me think about my career, and my life. It was a wake-up call. When our team was playing for it all, Pep didn't believe in me anymore. Then, when he finally turned to me, I got knocked out cold."

"Sometimes I think about what would have happened if I had woken up the next day and found out that we had gone through against Chelsea. I was out with a head injury for weeks, so I definitely wouldn't have played in the final. Maybe we would have won the Champions League.

"Maybe Pep would have decided to stay at Barca. Maybe he never would have regained his trust in me. Maybe I would be at another club right now. Instead, Tito Vilanova arrived as the manager the next season, and he gave me a chance to regain my place."