Pique: "I'm not among the best at the moment"
Gerard Pique was sincere as he recognised that "in these moments I am not among the the best central defenders in the world", although he added that "with the help of Luis Enrique" he will recover that level "because it is necessary to be a starter at Barcelona".
Chosen to speak to the press on Thursday, Pique was extremely critical of his and the team's performance levels last season.
"Right now, I am not among the three best in the world," he said.
"I cannot be because of the season I had with Barça and the World Cup I had with Spain; I know that to play for Barça, though, you have to be among the three best in the world."
Despite this, Pique still sent out an optimistic message.
"I know that I can recover that level and I am going to do that," he continued.
"If I thought that I couldn't do that, I would be the first to put my hand up and say so, but I am convinced with Luis Enrique's help I will recover a high level."
In summary of last season, the Catalan defender claimed it was a "failure" after the club ended the season having only won the Spanish Supercopa.
"We were close to winning the league and the cup, but we failed in the end," he added.
"But if we can improve our levels a little bit, we will have the titles close again, if we work hard and show humility.
"We have all the ingedients to do something really big."
LEVEL OF THE KIDS
Pique also spoke about how impressive some of the young members of the Barcelona squad have been in pre-season so far.
"They have a really good level," he explained.
"They have always been in Barça, but they cannot wait to be players playing in the first team at the club.
"If they work hard enough, some of them will arrive in the first team, while the others will play in the Primera."
Finally, the 27-year-old admitted that he made a mistake at the World Cup when he was caught by a microphone telling Vicente del Bosque that Cesc Fabregas would join Chelsea.
"But that has passed now and there is nothing that can be done about it," Pique finished.
