The Spanish national team met up for international duty on the back of what has been a turbulent week at home politically.
The people of Catalonia voted in an independence referendum that was deemed illegal by the Spanish government, leading to clashes between police and those who were supporting the casting of ballots.
FC Barcelona's game on Sunday was played behind closed doors, and speaking afterwards a tearful Piqué said that he would step aside from international football if the manager or members of the Real Federación Española de Fútbol felt his presence was damaging to the team.
Speaking to Off the Ball earlier this week, Graham Hunter described Pique's display of raw emotion in front of the press as "simply extraordinary."
"What happened in [Barcelona] and around Catalunya was just utterly unacceptable," Hunter added. "I think it was criminal behaviour and if Gerard Piqué feels that to his bones, why wouldn't he speak out?".
In a press conference on Wednesday, Piqué once again went before the media to explain his comments, and address the booing by fans at Monday's open training session.
"It hurts that my commitment is being questioned," Piqué stated. "I have said on many occasions that I feel incredibly proud to be in the Spanish team, to be part of a unique group of players, and to try and win all the titles possible with them."
Pique still talking, taking every question seriously, answering honestly. Super impressive, whether you agree with him or not on everything.
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) October 4, 2017
Noting that he was simply asking for his opinion to be respected, and for a dialogue to be established, the defender asked that fans consider the effect that the booing was having on the team as a whole.
"In the end, what I'm proposing is pretty reasonable. To stop everyone from booing would be incredibly difficult, but if I was a fan of the Spanish team and I could choose between supporting the team and booing me, I'd hope the people think 'damn, I want to support the team'."
"I'm not worried about me, it hurts me but I've lived with this for a while now. It's for my team-mates. It's them that I feel uncomfortable for in that situation, because they don't deserve to go through that."
Asked if he regretted any of the comments he made on Sunday, Piqué said that he had simply said what he believed.
"I'm not sorry, because it's what I feel. But I think in the end we're all people and it would be impossible for us all to think the same thing. People have their own opinions, and they're shaped by our environment, where we live, and the information we get.
"I think differently from you, from many people here, and from many others in this country.
"Everything has been focused around me, but what I think doesn't matter. We're talking about a country like Spain, with all of its rich history, and a part of it that wants to leave. What could my opinion possibly matter?
"It goes much further than what I think. There are millions of people demonstrating on the streets in favour of voting, and a lot of others in Spain supporting the Catalans. There are also a lot of people who don't want there to be a vote, and you will only solve this by talking.
"I'm not here to give my opinion and [...] start a war of words, my opinion doesn't matter. What matters here is that the politicians do their job and solve this problem."
Piqué also thoughtfully questioned why there should be such a fuss caused when a footballer chooses to speak out about their political views.
"We're footballers, but remember that above anything else we're also people," he added. "We take to the pitch, and we still have our own problems, personal problems, family problems... We have to live with them, we have to work with them, like you all do when you're doing your jobs.
"So then, why can everyone else talk about politics; a waiter, a journalist, a mechanic, but a footballer can't? It's something that is just accepted, but it doesn't make sense that it should be like that."
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