Name	Gerard Pique
Height	6' 3"
Naionality	Spanish
Date of Birth	Feb 02, 1987
Place of Birth	Barcelona
Famous for

Manchester United fended off competition from Arsenal to sign Barcelona's teenage defender Gerard Piqué Bernabeu in July 2004. The then 17-year-old agreed a five-year deal with Sir Alex Ferguson's side after spending seven years as a youth player at the Nou Camp were he was nominated as the Catalonia Player of the Year.

Piqué's surname of "Bernabeu" is not connected to Santiago Bernabéu or Real Madrid, the name Bernabeu is common in Barcelona. Piqué is in fact the a grandson of a famous former vice-president of the Nou Camp club, Amador Bernabeu.

On arrival at United he told El Mundo Deportivo. "There have been seven years of my life where I have learned and enjoyed my football with Barca and I would not change that for anything in the world. But a new phase of my life begins now. It took a lot to make the decision to leave Barca. I was very happy here and had never thought about changing club but, after looking at the options, speaking with my parents and my grandfather, who has also helped me a lot, it was a suitable time for me. In England, the age does not matter so much while here in Spain there is a structure and there are very few chances to break through."


Piqué made his United debut as a substitute for John O’Shea in a 3-0 Carling Cup win over Crewe in October 2005. His Premiership debut came a year later again as sub in a 3-1 victory at Sunderland in October 2005. He made his full debut for United on the 29th of March 2006 against West Ham at Old Trafford playing as a right-back. His performances in the reserve team earned him an improved contract in February 2005 running until summer 2009.

However, Pique predictably found it just as hard to break through at Old Trafford, though he showed signs of progress in 2005/06, putting in some assured performances in the FA and League cup competitions of that season. In July 2006, he played for Spain in the European Under19s Championship, helping them win the tournament. When he returned to Old Trafford in the summer it wasn't for long. On August 4th 2006, Real Zaragoza secured Piqué on a season-long loan in which he must play at least 20 games for the team.

In May 2007 it was announced that Piqué would be returning to Old Trafford for 2007-2008. The Catalonian played his first competitive match since his return in a 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park, coming on as a sub for Nani. He made his second Premiership start on 6th of October 2007, against Wigan Athletic at home, as right back though he was switched to centre back, partnering Rio Ferdinand.