Gerard Piqué was picked up by United in 2004 from Barcelona and starred for our reserve team. He eventually made his debut for United in 2004 in the League Cup and slowly rose through the ranks. Along with Giuseppe Rossi, Piqué was a highly touted prospect for United and it seemed as if we had a real gem in defense. He even began to appear on the bench pretty often and scored his two only senior goals for us in the Champions League. Finally, we had a reliable protege who could learn from Rio Ferdinand.
Alas, it was not meant to be as Piqué was sold back to Barcelona at the end of the 2007-2008 season. It bugged me a little bit that we were letting a potential first-teamer go to a MASSIVE club, but I knew that we still had Ferdinand, Vidic, and Brown to make sure that we didn't commit suicide at the back (although Brown has come close to it). What I didn't expect however, was Piqué to turn into one of Barcelona's best defenders, learning from the epicness that is Carles Puyol.
Today Piqué is Puyol's number one defensive partner for both club and country. He's won three League titles (one with United), two Champions League medals (one at United, at one at Barcelona the following year against United), and one World Cup medal. I must say, the boy's done pretty well for himself. It's just a shame we couldn't hold on to him and turn him into a great at Old Trafford. Oh well, at least we can try with Jonny Evans...
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