Barcelona is unhappy with defender Gerard Pique and his strange role in the even stranger documentary special, Antoine Griezmann’s ‘The Decision” that aired on a Spanish pay-per-view channel last Thursday night in Spain. Pique is the owner of film production company Kosmos Studios, the company which produced Griezmann’s decision film.
In the 30-minute documentary, Griezmann walks around his home and the streets of Spain and basically ponders whether or not he should leave Atletico Madrid for Barcelona. As bizarre as that already is, the fact Pique, a Barcelona defender, was involved at all and even tweeted and retweeted tweets from Kosmos promoting the special is problematic, especially for his bosses at Barcelona.
para ver esta noche #LaDecisión de @AntoGriezmann en @cero https://t.co/pi0UI3NT6M
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) June 14, 2018
Barcelona vice-president Jordi Mestre, who was speaking at a Barcelona event which named ex-Barca defender Eric Abidal as the club’s new sporting director, said: "The club president (Josep María Bartomeu) spoke to Gerard Pique to tell him his involvement had generated surprise and unease at the club and among many Barca fans.”
Mestre also said the club would subsequently speak with Pique and his defensive partner Samuel Umtiti, after both defenders returned from World Cup duties with Spain and France, respectively. Umtiti jokingly tweeted in response to Pique on Thursday that he needed some popcorn to watch the special as well.
Pique has defended himself by saying after he spoke with Griezmann about featuring his decision in a documentary helmed by his company, he personally stepped away and did not know Griezmann’s decision until the special was about to air. This has not stopped the ire and criticism from Barcelona brass and supporters alike.
Despite the criticisms, Pique has remained rather defiant and tweeted that same Thursday night: "Remember one thing. There'll be people who criticize it, because everything that's new generates repudiation. But the most important reflection that 'La Decisión' offers is that sometimes not everything they sell you is true."
Y recordad una cosa. Habrá gente que lo criticará, porque todo lo nuevo puede generar rechazo. Pero la reflexión más importante que deja la #LaDecisión es que a veces, no todo lo que os venden es cierto. Buenas noches.
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) June 14, 2018
Indeed this seems like a case of the players taking power into their own hands in regards to transfer speculation and decisions. In the age of social media, the soccer player now has a clear voice to not only join, but even go against and contradict media rumors and narratives themselves, which Griezmann, with the help of Pique, has done.
Pique says it all by saying: “Sometimes not everything they sell you is true.” By saying that, he is criticizing the barrage of constant false rumors and conjecture proliferated by the media (mostly in Europe and not at The18, of course) and prompting the push of putting the power into the hands of the players. Also in the not most subtle message, Pique’s current Twitter banner reads: “Power to the players,” with him giving a thumbs up in front of it.
Tweet on Gerard!
The18 Recommends For You
