Pique marks 100th game

Gerard Pique will tomorrow celebrate his 100th match in European competition when Barcelona host Chelsea in the crucial knockout game.

He reaches the milestone at the age of 31 and further increases his footballing legend as he continues to make history.

Already in his career he has hoisted the Champions League trophy aloft on an impressive four occasions.

Much has changed for Barcelona, for football and, of course, for Pique himself since he played his first game in Europe.

That came on December 8, 2004 in a group stage clash against Fenerbahce when he was still at Manchester United.

The Turkish side won 3-0 and Pique played a total of 27 minutes off the bench as a substitute.

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In total, he played four Champions League games with the Red Devils, starting in three and winning two, while also scoring twice during that time.

With Barcelona, who he returned to just under a decade ago, he has played in 93 games in Europe’s premier club competition.

Of those 93, he has started in 90 games and has won an impressive 56, while also chipping in with nine goals.

The Catalan ace has also played in two UEFA Sup Cup games with the Azulgrana and has won them both.

The first came against Shakhtar in 2009/10 and the second against Sevilla in 2015/16.

Reaching 100 appearances is a big deal for the centre-back as only a privileged few players have the honour of reaching this milestone.

Of the active players, for example, there are the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas, Manuel Neuer, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Franck Ribery, Ricardo Quaresma, Arjen Robben, Karim Benzema, Dani Alves, Darijo Srna, Sergio Ramos, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.

With players like that, you could put together the ultimate dream XI of Champions League stars.