Ex-Barcelona player on infamous Gerard Pique photo with Neymar – ‘We knew he was leaving’

Former Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez has revealed that Gerard Pique was fully aware that Neymar Junior was on his way to Paris Saint-Germain when he posted the infamous ‘Se queda’ [he stays] photo. The selfie featuring the Catalan defender and the Brazilian went down as part of the history of what remains the world’s most expensive transfer ever.

PSG were hoping to make a splash in the summer of 2017, and decided to target the man dubbed as the successor to Lionel Messi. While initially talk of a move to France was met with scepticism, PSG were willing to activate his mammoth €222m release clause. As speculation mounted that Neymar would give the green light for a move, Pique posted a proclamation on Neymar’s future featuring the Brazilian.

JUST IN: Girona FC are interested in Marc-André Ter Stegen. The Catalan club have already made enquiries, and head coach Míchel would welcome the goalkeeper’s arrival. [@ferrancorreas] pic.twitter.com/Kyan4UbprU

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 29, 2025

Denis Suarez explains inside story – ‘We knew’

One of the players in the Barcelona dressing room at the time was Denis Suarez. The Alaves midfielder has explained that even Pique was well aware that a move to PSG was imminent for Neymar when he posted the photo.

“There was a moment when we already knew he was leaving. With the ‘he stays’ photo, we already knew he was out,” Suarez told Post United via (Marca), amid laughter.

“We were in preseason and all the commotion surrounding Neymar’s future caught us by surprise. But there was a moment when we already knew he was leaving. We started telling Pique he didn’t have the balls, and he posted it. He was practically gone at that point.”

‘Barcelona players tried to persuade him to stay’

Suarez went on to epxlain that there were those at Barcelona that did their best to halt the move.

“There were close teammates who tried to convince him to stay, and I also think he should have stayed; he was going to be huge at Barca. He was soon going to be number one.”

As it were, Neymar would be presented as a PSG player 11 days after Pique’s photo. Previously, Lionel Messi has admitted that he was one of the players that advocated for the Brazilian to continue at Camp Nou. Neymar’s move is arguably one of the great sliding doors moments of modern European football, which kickstarted Barcelona’s decline.

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