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Barcelona have revealed a special jersey as an ode to Gerard Pique for his farewell game against UD Almeria on Saturday, November 5.
The Spain international dropped a bombshell on November 4 when he announced his decision to retire from football. He announced that the La Liga clash against Almeria at Camp Nou will be his last game as a professional footballer.
Tributes poured in from all corners of the world as they bid farewell to one of the sport's greatest-ever defenders. Barca have now revealed a special one-off jersey for their clash against the Indalicos, which can be viewed in a tweet posted by the official club account below:
The jersey will have 'Sempr3' written on the front as a way to signify Pique's immortal legacy at the club. The Spaniard has worn the No. 3 jersey at Barcelona since taking it from Gabriel Milito after the 2007-08 campaign.
The Spanish word 'sempre' translates to 'always' in English, and carries the same sentiment as the word 'forever'. Barcelona and Pique will hope for the best possible outcome from this match.
They were handed a 95th-minute lifeline by Robert Lewandowski, who scored in a 1-0 win against Valencia on October 30. This win has kept them within touching distance of league leaders Real Madrid, who lead Barca by a point at the top of the table after 12 matches.
Pique hasn't been in great form and has only been called into action as regularly as he has this season due to injuries to Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde. He will start against Almeria at the heart of Barcelona's defense with makeshift centre-back Marcos Alonso.
This will be the former's 10th appearance of the season across competitions.
Thomas Muller among many to pay his tributes to Barcelona's Gerard Pique
Bayern Munich playmaker Thomas Muller was one of the first counterparts to send a message to Pique after he announced his retirement from the sport.
Pique and Muller have come face-to-face as opponents on the pitch nine times, whereby the German has helped his team to seven wins.
Nevertheless, the 2014 World Cup winner with Germany took some time out to recognize Pique's career and wrote on Twitter:
"Always a tough opponent and a great sportsman. A champion and a legend of our game. Thank you @3gerardpique 🤝💪🏻 #GerardWay #GerardPique #allthebest"
Pique will retire from football having won 36 trophies with Barcelona, Manchester United, and Spain across 768 professional games.
