Barcelona Player of the Year: 5 candidates ranked

#2 Gerard Pique

FC Barcelona v Olympique Lyonnais - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Second Leg

The Spaniard's importance to Barcelona can be ascertained from the fact that he has started in all but 1 games in both the Champions League and the La Liga. Pique had a tougher season than expected, because his regular partner in the heart of the defense, Samuel Umtiti has missed the majority of the season due to a knee injury.

Pique did not let that affect him or his team. Instead, the Spaniard took Clement Lenglet under his wings and helped the Frenchman settle down, forming a new partnership at the heart of the defense.

This season once more, the Spaniard has provided the defensive backbone for the Catalans. His composed stature and assuring presence at the back has helped Barcelona play their normal attacking game. But the Spaniard has not just held the fort at the back, he has gone forward on every occasion and has been a threat from set pieces too.

Pique has already scored seven goals and has registered two assists so far this season. He has been one of the best defenders in the world so far and is also a contender for the Barcelona player of the year award.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Jong Ching Yee