Soccer is home to a number of hilarious memes that fans love to talk about.
You only have to look at a player like Harry Maguire, who rose to become one of the most discussed public figures in the sport during the European Championships in 2021 because of the size of his forehead!
Banter within the beautiful game is plentiful, and one particular moment that Spanish supporters look back on relates to the pain that Barcelona felt in the summer of 2017.
The meme that is now widely known as “Se queda” is a timeless reminder for people not to get ahead of themselves when it comes to serious matters concerning the game itself.
We’re going to take a quick look at what this phrase means, along with offering a detailed context behind the events that took place at the Catalan club that fateful summer.
What does “se queda” mean?
Lets’ begin with a brief summary of the term’s meaning…
“Se queda” is a Spanish phrase that is literally translated to mean “to stay”.
Here’s some visual evidence of this for you:
Other verb conjugations of this term include:
- Remains;
- Is left; and
- Sticks
So, it generally refers to a male or female person staying or remaining where they are in a physical or abstract sense.
What context does the “se queda” phrase refer to?
It’s story time!
Back in 2017, Spanish central defender Gerard Pique and Brazilian forward Neymar were team mates at FC Barcelona.
The latter had been putting in a string of immaculate performances on the pitch that were earning him comparisons to the greatest soccer player of all time – Lionel Messi – who was also his colleague at the time.
During the summer of that year, when transfer speculation about players moving to different teams is particularly rife, a rumor emerged that Neymar was going to leave the Catalan club for Paris Saint Germain.
The logic behind the move was that Neymar would get a better chance to compete for Balon d’Or titles.
And it certainly made a lot of sense.
After all, if Neymar switched allegiances to play in France, he would no longer be under the competitive shadow of Lionel Messi at Barcelona, with the latter seen as the major figurehead at the club.
As murmurs of this potential transfer swirled across various news outlets and social media platforms, Gerard Pique thought it would be good to get in with his own message on the situation.
So, on the 23rd of July 2017, Gerard Pique put out a forceful “se queda (he stays)” tweet that announced Neymar remaining with the Catalan giants, accompanied by a photo of the pair smiling at the camera for a selfie.
Here’s what this tweet looked like:
However, to Gerard Pique’s eventual surprise, his team mate ended up signing for Paris Saint Germain officially on the 3rd of August 2017.
This brought about a wave of intense mockery towards Gerard Pique, whose “se queda” tweet was admitted into meme folklore for the rest of time just for how wrong he ended up being about the entire transfer situation.
How did the “se queda” meme become so popular?
Following Neymar’s move to the Parisian giants, the club themselves put out a playful “se firma (it is confirmed)” tweet which mocked Pique’s previous declaration.
It was a fitting end to the transfer saga that saw Neymar move for a staggering 222 million euros, but that was just the beginning of one of soccer’s greatest ever jokes.
Social media spread this meme like wildfire, as numerous posters on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook put out posts which made fun of the saga and Pique’s funny gaffe.
Here’s a picture that paints the story for you:
An image of two different people wearing Paris Saint Germain and Brazil jerseys with Neymar’s squad number on them, with the “se queda” catchphrase embroidered onto the back!
Where is Gerard Pique now?
Probably watching television at home!
The former Barcelona player and Spanish international player retired from the game back in 2022, hanging up his boots following a career which saw him win multiple trophies including a World Cup.
Here’s what his trophy cabinet looks like:
Closing thoughts
As Neymar continues his professional soccer career in the country of France, let us spare a thought for the now retired Pique.
His “se queda” meme brought amusement to many fans across the globe for how wrong he turned out to be.
But it ultimately left him with a big barrel of embarrassment in his backyard that he’ll have to live with pretty much indefinitely.
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