Carles Puyol

At a packed Auditori 1899, his teammates, ex-teammates, presidents and coaches paid tribute to him, and he said "I’ve lived the dream of so many young kids, doing what I most enjoy in life, playing football and training".

He announced his retirement shortly after at the age of 36 but stayed with his only club; he was immediately appointed director of football Andoni Zubizarreta's assistant.

Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona.

He mainly played as a centre-back, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a right-back.

Known for his defensive qualities and leadership, Puyol is regarded as one of the greatest defenders and captains of all time.

His abilities and prowess on the field earned him the nickname of "El Tiburón" ("The Shark") by teammates and fans.

In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's youth system at La Masia, switching positions again to play as a defensive midfielder.

Two years later, he started playing for the club's B-team, occupying the position of right-back.

In 1998, Barcelona accepted an offer from Málaga to sell Puyol, who was behind Frank de Boer and Michael Reiziger in the pecking order.

However, he refused to leave after seeing his best friend Xavi make his first-team debut.

Louis van Gaal promoted Puyol to the first team the following year, and he made his La Liga debut on 2 October 1999 in a 2–0 away win against Real Valladolid.

After that he successfully made another conversion, to central defender.

He continued to be a defensive cornerstone for Barça, being awarded the "Best European right-back" award by UEFA in 2002 (amongst other individual accolades), and helped the Catalans win two consecutive league titles.

During the 2003 off-season, as Barcelona was immersed in a financial crisis, Manchester United showed interest in signing Puyol, but no move ever materialised.

Two years later, he extended his contract for a further five seasons.

Puyol was named club captain at the end of 2003–04, after the retirement of Luis Enrique.

He was Barcelona's captain from August 2004 until his retirement in 2014, and appeared in 593 competitive matches for the club.

He won 18 major club titles, including six La Liga trophies and three Champions Leagues.

In 2005–06 he appeared in a total of 52 games, including 12 in that season's UEFA Champions League which ended in victory against Arsenal, the club's second European Cup.

Puyol won 100 caps for Spain, and was part of the squads that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

On 16 September 2008, Puyol made his 400th appearance for Barcelona in a Champions League group stage match against Sporting CP.

In the league season, despite injury problems, he appeared in 28 matches and helped them win another league title.

His only goal came against Real Madrid in El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu on 2 May 2009 which finished with a resounding 6–2 win, and he celebrated his goal by kissing his Catalan flag armband in front of the incensed Madrid fans.

He was essential to the team also winning the 2009 Copa del Rey, the 2009 Champions League, the 2009 UEFA Super Cup and the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup to complete an unprecedented sextuple, appearing in nearly 100 official matches.

In the 2010 World Cup semi-final, he scored the only goal of the game against Germany.

Born in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia, Puyol started playing football for his hometown club as a goalkeeper, but after injury problems with his shoulder, he became a forward.

He said that in his youth, "My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study".

On 13 November 2010, Puyol played his 500th game in all competitions for Barcelona in a domestic league match against Villarreal.

He struggled again with injuries during the 2010–11 campaign, but still appeared in 28 matches, again winning the league and the Champions League.

He played the final six minutes in the Champions League final, a 3–1 victory over Manchester United at the Wembley Stadium.

After the defeat to Inter Milan in the 2009–10 Champions League semi-final, Puyol played in 56 matches for Barcelona without losing, a run that only ended on 11 January 2012 at Osasuna (2–3 loss).

He also scored two goals in the season's Copa del Rey, against Real Madrid and Valencia.

On 2 October 2012, in the late stages of a Champions League group stage encounter at Benfica, his first game upon recovering from a knee ligament injury suffered against Getafe, Puyol dislocated his elbow after landing awkwardly in a corner kick challenge.

He was initially expected to be sidelined for two months but fully recovered in one.

On 2 March 2014, Puyol surpassed Migueli to go second in Barça's all-time league appearances table, behind only Xavi, and scored the third goal in a 4–1 home win against Almería.

Two days later, although he still had two more years in his contract, he announced that he would leave Barcelona at the end of the season.

He said "After my last two major operations, I find it is taking me a lot of effort to reach the level required here, even more than myself and the surgeons thought necessary. That's the reason I have reached this decision".

Barcelona bid farewell to Puyol on 15 May 2014, after a fifteen-year career in the first team (ten as captain) that brought him 21 titles.

On 18 December Barcelona renewed his contract, extending it until 30 June 2016.

In June of the following year he again underwent surgery on his right knee, his sixth operation as a professional, which led to thoughts of early retirement.