National team Fans called for him to leave

While the national team camp can often be a tense place and Gerard Pique has become used to receiving whistles from Spain fans, the events at Las Rozas on Monday were out of the ordinary.

It should have been a relaxed mood as the players met up at the training facilities in Madrid with the team only a step away from classifying for the World Cup but instead all the focus was on Pique with over 1,000 fans at training and many directing whistles at him.

Some had banners with phrases such as 'Pique bastard, leave the national team'.

There was a stark contrast with Isco, who was given plenty of support, as Pique arrived with his present and past teammates in Jordi Alba, Busquets, Bartra and Pedro, in silence and without confirming if he was going to stay in the national team having put the question in doubt on Sunday.

Sergio Busquets raised a laugh when asked how Pique was by saying that he was "going okay".

Inside the training facilities and it wasn't a normal day for Pique who wrote a tweet to criticise the force used by the police to repress people looking to vote in the Catalan independence referendum.

Han actuado con profesionalidad y de modo proporcional y proporcionado. https://t.co/FLHvhmwJ8L ? Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) 2 de octubre de 2017

Before the training session, coach Julen Lopetegui spoke briefly about the work of the team but didn't go into any details.

Pique knows that it is a difficult situation and that he will be up against it from now until the clash with Albania next Friday in Alicante. His place in the team hangs by the balance after his comments and it is not about patriotism and compromise but through putting him against the Spanish government.