Gerard Pique Denies 'Betraying' Barcelona After Playing Role in Griezmann Documentary
Barcelona's Gerard Pique has defended his role in the documentary which saw Antoine Griezmann turn down an offer to move to Camp Nou as he confirmed he was staying at Atletico Madrid next season.
The French attacker ended months of speculation regarding his future in a documentary aired earlier this week as he announced to the world that he would not be taking up an offer from La Liga's champions.
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The documentary - which tracked Griezmann's decision making process - was produced by Pique's company Kosmos Studios, and the immediate aftermath saw criticism laid at the feet of the defender after Barcelona were rejected on air in front of millions.
Pique, however, disputed all such claims that his involvement showed a lack of respect for his club as he insisted he only found out on Thursday that Griezmann had decided to stay at Atletico.
"I have not betrayed Barca and I'm surprised anyone would doubt my commitment to Barcelona because I've been a fan since birth," Pique told reporters, via ESPN, following Spain's 3-3 draw with Portugal at the World Cup on Friday.
"Obviously, at the end of the day, it's one of my companies, but that's it. Griezmann told me months ago there was the chance he could come to [Barca] and he didn't know what to do. I proposed the documentary and my team got to work.
"We thought it was a good idea, a way to show people how these important decisions are made. From there, I completely disconnected myself from it, obviously.
"I was called [on Thursday] and told it was going out. That's when I knew that the decision was to stay. That's how it went. When I found out, I spoke with people at the club, but his decision would have been the same with or without [the documentary]."
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Reports from Sport claimed the documentary caused an 'earthquake' at Barcelona, leading Pique to reveal he had spoken to president Josep Maria Bartomeu in the aftermath.
He added: "I spoke with Bartomeu [on Friday] morning, he called me, everything is fine. He's pissed off because he wanted Griezmann to sign and thought he would end up coming.
"But Barca are much bigger than one player. If one player doesn't want to come, he will have his reasons, be that sporting or financial, but there are others that will come."
