"Pique has left a huge legacy"

Spain's Raul Gonzalez Blanco, the current Real Madrid Castilla coach and Real Madrid legend, praised the "magnificent and extraordinary" career of Gerard Pique after the 1-0 win over Pontevedra on Sunday, after he surprised everyone by announcing his retirement on Thursday.

"Congratulations to Pique for a magnificent and extraordinary career, I want to wish him all the best for his future. He has left a huge legacy, he is one of the best in history in his position, with his club and with the national team. I wish him all the best and good luck," he told a press conference.

Raul has Real Madrid's first reserve team, Castilla, in fourth place in the promotion play-offs after 11 games.

"We have maintained our consistency at home and improved away. You can see a growth and maturity in a young team. We're in the play off places, we're happy, but the important thing is to be there on Matchday 30 or 32," he said of his team's form.

Statements after the victory over Pontevedra (1-0) in an Alfredo di Stefano stadium that was evacuated, in the 67th minute, for ten minutes because, as 'EFE' was able to find out, an alarm sounded accidentally.