Pique

Pique or piqué may refer to:

Arts and entertainment

Ships

People

Other uses

See also

Real Madrid C.F.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal maˈðɾið ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol]; Royal Madrid Football Club), commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain.

Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the team has traditionally worn a white home kit since inception. The word Real is Spanish for Royal and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. The team has played its home matches in the 81,044-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club throughout its history.

The club is the most valuable sports team in the world, worth €2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) and the world's highest-earning football club for 2013–14, with an annual revenue of €549.5 million. The club is one of the most widely supported teams in the world. Real Madrid is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and the El Derbi madrileño with Atlético Madrid.

Gerard Piqué

Gerard Piqué Bernabéu (Catalan: [ʒəˈɾar piˈke i βərnəˈβeu], Spanish: [ʝeˈɾar piˈke i βernaˈβeu]; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender for FC Barcelona and the Spain national team.

A product of Barça's cantera, La Masia, Piqué initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Pep Guardiola's leadership, helping the club win a treble in 2008–09 and a quadruple in 2009–10. He is one of four players to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o.

Piqué has also represented Spain, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role in the Spain team that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.

Club career

Early career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Piqué started his career in FC Barcelona's youth teams as a defensive midfielder, but before he signed his first professional contract with the club, he decided to join Manchester United. The Premier League side did not pay a fee for Piqué as he was too young to have a professional contract.

El Clásico

El Clásico (Spanish pronunciation: [el ˈklasiko]; Catalan: El Clàssic,pronounced: [əɫ ˈkɫasik]; "The Classic") is the name given in football to any match between fierce rivals Real Madrid C.F. and F.C. Barcelona. Originally it referred only to those competitions held in the Spanish championship, but nowadays the term has been generalized, and tends to include every single match between the two clubs: UEFA Champions League, Copa del Rey, etc. Other than the UEFA Champions League Final, it is the biggest football club game in the world, and is among the most viewed annual sports events.

The rivalry comes about as Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain, and they are sometimes identified with opposing political positions, with Real Madrid viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalan nationalism. The rivalry is regarded as one of the biggest in world sport. The two clubs are among the richest and most successful football clubs in the world; in 2014 they were ranked the world's two most valuable sports teams. Both clubs have a global fanbase; they are the world's two most followed sports teams on social media.

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [fubˈbɔɫ ˈkɫub bərsəˈɫonə]), also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (More than a club). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the second most valuable sports team in the world, worth $3.16 billion, and the world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €560.8 million. The official Barcelona anthem is the "Cant del Barça", written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs.

Domestically, Barcelona has won 23 La Liga, 27 Copa del Rey, 11 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football, Barcelona has won five UEFA Champions League titles, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a shared record five UEFA Super Cup, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and a record three FIFA Club World Cup trophies. Barcelona was ranked first in the IFFHS Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 and currently occupies the second position on the UEFA club rankings. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid; matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico.