Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has said his “love for Manchester United” means he would never join rivals Manchester City.
The impending arrival of Pep Guardiola as City manager has led to ongoing speculation regarding players the Spanish coach may look to recruit in the summer.
Among the names mentioned is Pique, the Barca centre-back that won 14 trophies under the stewardship of Guardiola.
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Given City’s apparent need for a central defender, the links to Pique would seem to have merit, although Pique has ruled himself out of joining City due to his history with United, the club at which he spent four years.
“My love for Manchester United is too big to let me even consider signing for City one day, even with Guardiola in charge,” Pique, 29, said.
Pique did leave the door open for a future exit from Barcelona, saying a move to Colombia, the country of his pop star wife Shakira, could be an option.
“I would like to try out a different league for a couple of years at some point before I retire,” he said. “I don’t know whether Colombia might be an option for me, but only because of Shakira. But you can never predict what’ll happen in the future.”
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