"It hurts that my commitment is being questioned. 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."
Since Sunday, when Spain's Guardia Civil carried out a cracked down in Catalonia over the October 1st referendum, Spain and Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has been in the eye of the storm, given his fortright views in regards to the Catalan independence movement.
Pique, who has won a World Cup and a European Championship with Spain in an elite international career spanning more than 90 caps, was booed by some supporters during a Spain open training session earlier this week as La Roja prepare for a World Cup qualifier against Albania tonight and then against Israel on Monday night.
Where it leaves his international career is not quite clear, having initially suggested that he could quit the national team if his pro-Catalan independence views are deemed a problem.
Our Barcelona-based European football correspondent Graham Hunter joined us last night to discuss the situation.
The Albania match takes place in Alicante, in Valencia province on the east coast and a training session also took place there in which the booing morphed into more of a show of support for Pique as Graham detailed.
"The reason I say, 'Which training session?' is because when they reached Alicante today, they set up a training session there in the evening and it was interesting that Pique chose to come out last or second last," he said.
"And there was whistling and jeering as Pique came out at Alicante but throughout the session, not only did that diminish but there were a few choruses of fans chanting Pique's name."
But what can Pique expect on matchday in a much more populated atmosphere?
"I think on matchday against Albania, it will clearly still be a bumpy ride. There will be those who either virulently oppose what he said or simply want to make a name for themselves. That's what I took out of the Bernabeu when one part of the crowd in Madrid's home stadium were not only supporting Pique but telling the rest of the crowd to shut up," said Graham.
"So I think that single issue of what he said and what he's like and the fact he voted, I think that issue might be going to bed. But will the whole issue disappear, given what's likely to happen on Monday or Tuesday according to the Catalan government? No, that's not likely to disappear or dissipate."
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