Gerard Pique's bittersweet farewell to Barcelona was marked by Almeria's victory.

BARCELONA: Barcelona won a 2-0 win over Almeria on Saturday, but the night belonged to defender Gerard Piques, who was playing his last game at the Camp Nou after he announced that he would retire from football when LaLiga qualifies for the World Cup next week.Barca moved to the top of the standings on 34 points from 13 games, two behind Real Madrid, who have a game in hand and will visit Rayo Vallecano on Monday.Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong scored in the second half.Dembele broke the deadlock right after the break by shooting a precise shot into the bottom corner from a counter-attack after missing several chances in the first half, including a penalty for a handball that Robert Lewandowski put wide.

At a sold-out Camp Nou, the long-serving Pique was the subject of much discussion, including the Barca players' shirts sporting the words Sempr3 Forever in Catalonian, with Piques number 3 replacing the letter E. Pique, 35, bagged 30 prizes with Barca, including three Champions League and eight LaLiga titles.He played well and nearly scored in the first half against a defensive Almeria side that only had one shot on target in the game.Pique was substituted in the 83rd minute and came off the pitch in tears to a standing ovation from the 92,605 fans who packed the stadium to say goodbye to a club that has won many awards this season.At the conclusion of the match, he was kicked in the face of his teammates and gave an emotional address to the cheering audience.

I am sure that I will be here again in the future.This is not a farewell, I said it when I was 16 years old and returned to Manchester United.I was born here and will die here, according to my grandfather.Visca Barca, Pique joined Barcelona academy as a ten-year-old boy, but instead left as a teenager to join United, where he made his professional debut in 2004.

He has been the player with the fifth highest number of appearances in Spanish clubs history (667) in 15 seasons, behind Lionel Messi (778), Xavi Hernandez (767), Sergio Busquets (694) and Andres Iniesta (674).Pique was regarded as one of the generation's finest centre backs, winning 36 gold medals over his 18-year career, including a World Cup and European Championships with Spain.