Former Barcelona star reveals true story behind Pique’s infamous ‘Se queda’ post regarding Neymar | OneFootball

Not many departures from Barcelona hurt as much as that of Neymar Jr, for the Brazilian was part of football’s best-ever attacking trident and seemingly the heir to Lionel Messi’s throne.

His departure from the club, in itself, came as a real shocker for PSG virtually swooped in from nowhere and triggered his €222 million release clause.

One famous moment from that time was Gerard Piqué’s social media post of a photo with Neymar, famously captioned ‘Se queda’, translating to ‘He stays’, and the former captain was even trolled for his post being horribly wrong.

The true story

In a recent interview (h/t MARCA), former Barcelona star Denis Suarez opened up about the famed moment and post by Pique, revealing that Neymar’s departure was an open secret in the dressing room even before the defender put up the ‘Se queda’ post.

“There was a moment when we already knew he was leaving. Even with the photo of ‘Se queda’ we already knew he was out.”

He then relived how news of Neymar’s departure came as a shock to the team, given how suddenly it all happened.

Denis Suarez with Gerard Pique at Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“We were in pre-season and all the commotion with Neymar’s future took us by surprise,” remarked Suarez.

“But there was a moment when we already knew he was leaving. We started telling Pique that he had no balls, and he hung up. He [Neymar] was practically out at that time,” he added on why Pique made the post.

Finally, Suarez revealed that some Barcelona players tried their best to convince the Brazilian to stay, but it was futile.

“There were close colleagues who tried to convince him to stay, and I also think he should have stayed, he was going to be very big at Barça. Soon, he was going to be number one,” revealed the midfielder.

Since leaving Barcelona, Neymar has been linked with a return to Barcelona on various occasions, and despite informal talks being held, nothing really materialised.

Currently recovering from surgery, hoping to earn a spot in the Brazil squad for the World Cup, Neymar still carries Barcelona in his heart.