“What this kid does is insane” - Gerard Pique chooses best La Masia graduate at Barcelona now
Barcelona legend Gerard Pique has picked Gavi as the best La Masia graduate at the club right now.
Gavi, 19, has already made 111 appearances across competitions, contributing seven goals and 14 assists. The tally includes two goals and an assist in 15 games across competitions this term.
The midfield sensation won the La Liga and Spanish Super Cup titles with Barca last season. Gavi has also become a regular for Spain, scoring five times in 27 games. However, the teenager tore his ACL in the 3-1 home win over Georgia in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier on Sunday (November 19) and is ruled out for the season.
Nevertheless, Pique - who played over 600 times for Barca across 15 seasons - reckons Gavi is a generational talent and has a long career ahead of him. As per Barca Universal, the recently retired centre-back said:
"Of all the La Masia kids now, I would pick Gavi. And now he got injured. ... At 19 years old, what this kid does is insane. Regardless of the injury, he can have a 15- or 20-year-long career."
Pique won trophies galore at Barca: nine La Liga and three UEFA Champions League titles, including two continental trebles. In 616 games across competitions, the 36-year-old contributed 53 goals and 13 assists before retiring last season.
How did Gerard Pique and Gavi fare together at Barcelona?
Barcelona legend Gerard Pique was widely regarded as one of the game's best defenders during his playing days. The former Spain international played one and a half seasons with Gavi at the Camp Nou.
In 42 games across competitions, Xavi's side won 23 times and lost eight, and scored 78 goals and conceded 43. The duo won the La Liga title together and helped keep 16 clean sheets across competitions.
Pique is one of a handful of players to have won the UEFA Champions League with multiple clubs. The Barcelona legend won the competition for the first time with Premier League giants Manchester United in the 2007-08 season.
After moving to Barca that summer, he won the competition for the second straight year and would win it two more times.