There's little doubt that if it weren't for his damned knees, Carles Puyol would still be a footballer today. Maybe he'd no longer be at FC Barcelona, but he could easily ply his trade in Qatar or the USA. Injuries pay respect to no man and ended up convincing Puyol to hang up his boots.

Josep Capdevila

That's when the club saw two things clearly. One is that a player like him deserved the opportunity to remain part of the institution. The other was that a man of his profile could play an important role at Barcelona. They wanted him to learn the job of sporting director. While he did that, he could also be part of the club's public image on many occasions. So that we understand, his role in the first phase was to be like Emilio Butragueno at Real Madrid.

Since he agreed to join the club as Zubi's technical secretary, Puyol saw one thing clearly. His intention was to learn what that job entailed. But he soon realised that his head was still that of a player, not a technical assistant or executive. He did not find it comfortable. In addition, his wife, Vanessa Lorenzo, has a career that takes her abroad regularly and that did not help him adapt to his new role.

From a few weeks ago it was clear that he did not quite fit. What he will do now is unknown. "I want to experience other things from another perspective and from other places," he explained in his farewell in a message on his personal account on Facebook, shortly after he announced his decision to the club, a decision that has not caught the chiefs at Barcelona by surprise, who were clear that their future plans with Carles Puyol would remain just that - plans.