Valverde's Pique warning: He'll play if he's focused, if not someone else will
Pique has spent several nights this week at the Davis Cup in Madrid
Ernesto Valverde didn't shy away from speaking about Gerard Pique's trip to Madrid this week to follow the revamped Davis Cup, which his company Kosmos has re-designed, at the Caja Magica in the Spanish capital.
The Barcelona coach said in a press conference on Friday ahead of Saturday's 1pm kick-off against Leganes that he didn't know if the Catalan defender was ready to play.
"If he's in condition to play, we will see when we name the team," Valverde said. "I've spoken with him and he seems focused. He has things that he does outside of football. Curiously, when players say they don't know how to do anything but football, they're criticised (as well)...
"If I think he's focused and ready to play (on Saturday), he will play. If not, someone else will."
Asked if Pique will have permission to attend Friday evening's games, with Barça travelling to Madrid ahead of the Levante game, the boss added: "You will see if he has permission. Tomorrow there's a really important game."
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