Spanish fútbol player Gerard Piqué suddenly announced Thursday (November 3) that he would retire from the sport this month, and fans of his ex-partner, icon Shakira, believe the timing is not a coincidence.
Piqué posted a farewell video and said this Saturday’s (November 5) match against Almeria in La Liga would be his last. He also talked about what fútbol, specifically playing for Barcelona, has meant for him. He’s come to the decision to retire, he said, because his “childhood dreams have been fulfilled.”
“Like many of you, coming from a fútbol family, I have always been a Barcelona fan,” Piqué said. “I did not want to be a fútboler, I wanted to play for Barca … fútbol has given me everything, Barca has given me everything. You the fans have given me everything … The moment has arrived to close this chapter.”
As genuine as his video seemed to be, Shakira fans weren’t buying what Piqué was selling. They took the opportunity to lay down some savage responses on social media about the real reason they think he is hanging up his cleats. It goes back to the rumor circulating in October that sometime soon, Piqué would have to wear Shakira’s name on his Barcelona team jersey since the team is sponsored by Spotify and the platform has started to promote their most popular artists.
The weekend before rumors started to swell online, Barcelona put rapper Drake’s name on the front of its jersey. Barcelona said in a statement, “This type of exchange on the front of the jersey is scheduled to happen more as the season progresses.”
Shakira fans believe Piqué wasn’t about to wait around to find out if he’d be forced to wear his ex’s name on his jersey. “It seems that Piqué was piqued by the rumors of the Shakira logo on the shirt and did not want to wear it,” one user wrote. “Saved by the bell!”
Many people had the same sentiment. “Piqué retires so as not to have to wear the shirt with the Shakira ad,” another tweeted.
Bottomline: Piqué retiring might be big news for Piqué fans, but everyone else is more excited about Shakira’s upcoming season.
Here are some of our favorite savage memes about Gerard Piqué from Shakira fans: