FC Barcelona is a team mostly associated with success in football and with 26 league titles
and 5 Champions Leagues to their name, it is for good reason that
their name has become synonymous with success since the turn of the century.
With the likes of Ronaldo(R9), Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Xavi and Messi among their ranks
over the last few years, Barcelona can credit their success to the likes of
these once in a generation players who helped make the club what it is today.
Funnily enough, today we have a mystery for you that does not have to do with the
success of Barcelona but rather with the hands of a current and two former Barcelona players.
I know what you're thinking…what could possibly be the mystery involving a
couple of hands of some players? Well stick around as we try to crack this case together.
Every team in world football takes team photos, whether at the start or middle of the season
or even before a game, mostly Champions League games. These official photos often happen at
the training ground or stadium with the players, head coach, staff members and president present.
This has never been a strange occurrence. It happens as a reminder of a certain year for a
team to look back on and for fans to reminisce about as well. Barcelona are one of these teams
and earlier this year, the team released their official team photo for the 2021/22 season.
At first glance, this photo, just like every other team's,
seems normal- players in uniform, coaches in tracksuits and the president with all
or maybe most of them smiling at the camera. Now take a look at Gerard Pique
and more specifically, take a look at his hands. What is that gesture he is making?
You might be thinking that this is just a normal gesture someone may make when they
have nothing to do with their hands but let us interest you in Barcelona’s 2020/21 team photo.
Ignore the digitally added in Philippe Coutinho and look at Pique again…look
familiar? What is this strange sign that Pique is making with his hands two years in a row?
Is it a prank? Is this just something that Pique does in most team photos?
This isn't the first time a Barcelona player has made this sign with their hands though.
If we cast our minds back to 2014 we can see that Neymar did the same gesture during the team photo
as well while Pique at the back had his hands at his side. Is this a secret sign to Neymar urging
him to come back or is it a tribute to the Brazilian? Or maybe it's just a coincidence.
Would you believe us if we told you there's more? Another Brazilian legend also did this very same
gesture back in his days at the club, in fact it's the most famous Brazilian of all… Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho did the very same gesture during a team photo for the 2005/2006 season. So,
can we say he's the one who started this? Three different players and four different
official team photos. What are they trying to tell us? Could it all just be a coincidence?
Now, hear us out on this. This gesture has been a never ending debate between
fans around the world with many coming up with theories as to why it is done.
Some theories may be feasible while others just sound downright hilarious and impossible.
One of these theories prompted Barcelona fans around the world to declare that they were going
to win the Champions League in the coming season and up until Pique, this theory might have proved
true as both Ronaldinho and Neymar ended the season hoisting the prestigious trophy in the air.
Pique though wasn't so lucky during the 2020/21 season but maybe that's why he tried again in
21/22 but even then, he struck out as Barcelona were nowhere near winning the Champions League
in the past season. They couldn't even win the Europa League. Maybe Pique will keep
doing the gesture until he eventually wins the Champions League again, only time will tell.
What do Ronaldinho and Neymar have in common except the fact that they're Brazilians? They
all eventually left Barcelona. Maybe this is a way for Pique to subtly tell the fans he's leaving?
That or he has chosen his own special way of telling us he's Brazilian.
Another darker theory that has been floating around has been that
maybe Barcelona and those three players specifically are part of the Illuminati.
The gesture has been compared to those shown by Kanye West and Jay Z
who people often believe are prominent members of the occult group but we'll put this one in the
hilarious category of theories unless your mind is normally running wild with conspiracy theories.
Female genitalia strangely could also be the reason for this gesture as in some cultures
including Brazilian, the gesture shown can be interpreted as that. Maybe this
was a dumb joke from the Brazilians and Pique has no idea what he's doing or what it means.
The final theory could just be one that will drive you mad. Maybe this is just
an inside joke among players and they enjoy seeing fans and critics losing their minds
over what their small gesture means. If this is the case then the players could
all just be watching videos like these and laughing their tails off at the speculation
while getting ready to do it again next year to drive us even more crazy with theories.
In any case, we think this gesture may not be as coincidental as people think and knowing how
superstitious footballers can be, there may just be more to this story that we don't yet know.
Keep an eye out for next year's team photo and see if you can spot the gesture anywhere,
if so then maybe it's time to pay a little closer attention to it.
What do you think the gesture means? Or does it mean anything at all in your eyes?
Either way we here at goal 90 know which team photo we're gonna pay the
most attention to next season. Leave a comment down below telling us what
you think about this story and whether you know any similar stories from other teams.
As always, if you liked this video, hit the like button and subscribe to the channel.
Make sure to turn on bell notifications too so
that you never miss any of our new content. Catch you next time. Bye!