Gerard Piqué

Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987 in Barcelona) is a Spanish people football (soccer) player. He was purchased by Manchester United F.C. from FC Barcelona B on 1 July 2004 then in the 2006-07 season loaned out to Real Zaragoza. He has performed consistently at this level and many fans have high hopes for him. He made his first appearance with Manchester United on 26 October 2004 against Crewe Alexandra F.C.. He has also played for the Spanish U17 and U19 teams.

The fact that Piqué's surname is 'Bernabeu' has led to some confusion regarding his origins, as shares his name with the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid. The discrepancy arises from the fact that the stadium was named in honour of Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, a former President of the Madrid club. The name Bernabeu is well-known in Barcelona, Piqué being a grandson of the celebrated former vice-president of FC Barcelona, Amador Bernabeu.

Piqué made his Premiership bow in October as a late replacement for John O'Shea (footballer), in a 3-1 victory at Sunderland. He made his full debut for Manchester United F.C. on 29 March 2006 against West Ham United F.C. in a Premier League game at Old Trafford (football) playing at defender (football), as Gary Neville was unavailable through injury. He even managed to get a good shot on goal from 40 yards out which had to be fantastically saved to stop Gerard scoring on his full Premiership début.

His performances, most notably in the reserve team, have earned him a new contract, signed in February 2005 to run until the summer of 2009.

Piqué was a member of the Spanish under 19 side that won the Uefa Under-19 Championship on 29 July. They beat Scotland U19 2-1 in the final with Piqué putting in a strong performance in defence, hitting the crossbar with a header, and also providing his team's second goal for teammate Alberto Bueno.

On 4 August 2006, Spanish La Liga outfit Real Zaragoza secured Piqué on a season-long loan. The conditions of the loan involved Piqué having to feature in at least 20 games for the Estadio La Romareda outfit.

On 5 May 2007, it was announced that Piqué would be staying at Old Trafford next season. It was intended for Sir Alex Ferguson to be at La Romareda to watch Piqué play on 6 May, in an effort to gauge the youngster's progress, before having a meeting with the player to discuss his future with Man Utd, but this was unable to take place, due to problems with flights.

He has since returned to Manchester United F.C. and is a member of the first team squad, acting as backup to Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. On September 15, Pique played his first competitive match since his return in the win against Everton at Goodison Park, replacing Nani.