"Pique's going because he is not a man for the bench"

Gerard Pique surprisingly announced that the game with Almeria would be his final one at the Camp Nou. After it was announced, Barca organised a brilliant farewell ceremony for him. 

His grandfather Amador Bernabeu spoke to 'Carrusel Deportivo' on radio station 'Cadena SER'. He expressed the reason why he decided to leave halfway through the season. 

"He is leaving earlier than planned because, due to his personality, he is not a man who likes being on the bench. After so many years, he is not used to being there... and he is fit to play because, whatever is said, he has shown until the last minute that he can play," he said. "It's for sporting reasons and you have to accept it. I think it's very good and right and that's it," Bernabeu added.

He made it clear that Pique is not hurt by his departure. "Not at all. He's a Barca fan, we all are in the family. We've always been Barca supporters. It is our life and our history. He'll never leave hurt, but one thing is the people there and another is Barcelona...," he added.

When asked whether Laporta had something to do with that decision, Pique's grandfather declined to comment. "I'm not going to get into that."

The news did not catch him by surprise. "We've had family meetings and one day he said a word to me. I sensed it. I saw it coming, I knew there were things that he wasn't going to accept. I knew it would finish like that. It's a personality thing. He's given everything up and I think it's very good," he said. 

Lastly, Amador asked for respect for Gerard Pique. "Those who don't know him have no right to criticise him. He leaves in a great way. It was an ending we didn't expect. I've seen him happy and I'm emotional," he concluded.