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Gerard Pique: 'I knew Neymar was leaving Barcelona'

Gerard Pique admits that he knew Neymar was going to leave Barcelona at the time of the Spaniard sharing his now-infamous "he's staying" photo.

Gerard Pique has revealed that he knew Neymar was going to leave Barcelona when he shared his now-infamous "he's staying" photo.

The Brazilian completed a world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain on August 3, 11 days after Pique posted a photo of the pair and the caption "se queda".

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Barca's Supercopa de Espana meeting with Real Madrid, he said: "At [Lionel] Messi's wedding [at the end of June], I had an idea that he might leave.

"In pre-season, again, he said he would leave. When I wrote the 'he's staying' tweet, I knew 100% that he was leaving.

"I know that he has his reasons, they could be financial, or it could be to be the best player in the world. He shouldn't be judged, he's a brave player. He performed extraordinarily for us.

"He hasn't disappointed me, and I don't regret the 'he's staying' tweet. Everything has a reason, and I wanted to use social media because that's an instrument I have. I wanted to help the club, and at least I tried, even though I knew he had made his decision."

During his four years at Camp Nou, Neymar won two La Liga titles, the Champions League and three Copas del Rey.

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Athletic Bilbao's coach Ernesto Valverde looks on during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs Athletic Club Bilbao at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on April 20, 2014
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2Real Madrid1393128111730
3Atletico MadridAtletico148512181329
4Villarreal137422521425
5Athletic Bilbao146532013723
6Osasuna146441922-322
7GironaGirona146352018221
8Mallorca146351312121
9Real BetisBetis145541616020
10Real Sociedad145361111018
11Celta Vigo145362224-218
12Sevilla145361318-518
13Rayo Vallecano134451314-116
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16AlavesAlaves144191524-913
17Las PalmasLas Palmas143381825-712
18Valencia122461219-710
19Espanyol133191226-1410
20Real ValladolidValladolid142391027-179


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