Gerard Pique Has Big Plans for His Post-Playing Career
Gerard Pique has admitted he would not make a good coach, but has plans to become president of Barcelona once he retires from playing.
The decorated centre back also, as quoted by Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, finally admitted that he is over his ongoing tirade against refereeing decisions that he believes cost Barcelona the league title last season.
The centre-back was speaking during the Catalan giants' tour of Asia, as he spoke about the manner in which he reacted to decisions against his team in 2016/17.
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Pique regularly butted heads with match officials over his perception that bitter La Liga rivals Real Madrid benefitted from refereeing decisions more than La Blaugrana, but he told the assembled press in Japan that he was now only looking ahead to the new campaign.
He quipped: "Yes, I'm very unhappy with refereeing in some games, but I've forgotten it a long time ago. The new season is about to begin, I have to completely change my mentality and not think about certain negative things."
At 30 years old, Pique is beginning to enter the twilight years of his playing career and, as has become the norm for footballers, attentions start to turn to careers off the pitch for when he calls time on playing football.
Asked if he held any ambitions to one day enter the dug out as a manager, Pique claimed that such a move did not appeal to him - but one particular backroom role at the Nou Camp would do.
He continued: "I'm not made to be a coach, I want to be the president of Barcelona, that's my dream, and when I retire I would like to do whatever I could for the club that I love."
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With talk about the pressure referees are constantly under and potential plans after retiring from playing, one journalist opted to combine the two and quiz Pique on a hypothetical question about what plans he would implement if he ever became president of world governing body FIFA.
Pique replied: "I would like to change the arbitration system. The pressure of the referee in a match is too great.
"To be able to eliminate injustice and to have less controversy would introduce means Technological developments that would improve arbitration."
