Tonight, the well-known Basque streamer Ibai Llanos receives Gerard Piqué, former central defender of Barcelona FC and the National Team, on his Twitch channel in what is the first interview he has given Catalan since he retired from the field.
With a video on his social networks, Piqué announced that the game on Saturday, November 5, was going to be his last game as a professional. Despite the victory, his last minutes on the pitch were marred by an expulsion during half-time in the locker room tunnel for insulting the referee.
The interview has focused mainly on a brief review of the opinion that the former player has of his career and the changes that, in his opinion, must perform in the king sport.
“The feeling it gives me is that today’s young people feel less attracted to football», explained Piqué, clarifying that it is still the most watched sport. In addition, he has argued that, at present, he believes that “90 minutes is too much”: “Children are more interested in what happens off the field than on it. People consume more the transfer market than the season.”
Extra time with five players
Some changes that Piqué has proposed is that the referees become more involved in the communication processes. “I would like to see the referees with microphones and to come out and talk after the game”, he explained, since, in his opinion, it is a perspective that he can contribute to the “product”.
In turn, he has attacked overtime and penalty shootouts, ensuring that “it is to be a kaffir”. “I understand that it is a difficult feeling, but this must be changed: the best does not happen,” he said along with the idea of removing a player from the field every so often in overtime periods.
As he himself has clarified, it is a quick idea that has to “mature”. «Imagine that every three minutes a player comes out until there is a goal and that you can to a Haaland against Mbappé and the goalkeepers,” he said, qualifying that “the same” should set a minimum limit of players.
He assures that he did not insult the referee
Piqué, asked about Ibai, has also clarified the red card in his last game and that he was not the one who insulted him – “although I am not going to say the name” – and that he expelled him for “going to talk to him.”
«I went to comment on several plays, I went into the tunnel and told him that it always hurts us. At the moment he expels me », assured the former player. In addition, he wanted to emphasize that it was another player who uttered the insultafter expulsion.
Prepare a “big announcement”
During different moments of the interview, in addition, both have created expectation around a “big announcement” which will be presented “somewhere in Barcelona” on November 10 at 8:00 p.m. Both the streamer and Piqué have wanted to clarify that it is not about nothing related to the Qatar 2022 World Cup -with which Ibai has already expressed his dissatisfaction- nor with the rumors of the creation of a new live platform.
He has also explained that he hopes to become more involved in the company they have together, KOI, and that he wants to make it the “world’s largest esports club”.
The announcement of the interview with Ibai may have been a surprise, the reality is that the former player maintains a very good relationship with the Basque. Llanos’ talk show, ‘Charlando Tranquilmente’, premiered in February 2021 with a conversation with Piqué and since then his appearances in public have only increased.
Not only with the presence of Piqué in the World Balloon Championship organized by Ibai, but also with the formation of a company together: KOIan esports (electronic sports) team that competes both nationally and internationally.
