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Gerard Pique confident all Spain fans will eventually get behind him

Spain defender Gerard Pique says he is sure that over time he will regain the full support of all La Roja's fans.

Barcelona's Pique has been whistled by his own side's crowd while playing for Spain in June's 2-1 friendly win over Costa Rica in Leon, and again in September's 2-0 Euro 2016 qualifier win over Slovakia in Oviedo.

While he remains a defender of Catalonia's right to decide its own future inside or outside Spain, he maintains that the whistles are mainly from Madrid supporters still upset at a joke he made about Cristiano Ronaldo's 30th birthday party in January.

The issue has also reportedly led the Spanish FA to move a likely friendly against England on Friday Nov. 13 from Madrid's Estadio Santiago Bernabeu to Alicante's much smaller Estadio Jose Rico Perez.

Speaking on Radio Marca in the build-up to Friday's qualifier at home to Luxembourg in Logrono the 28-year-old said that "in the end" people would just move on and time would solve the problem.

"Time puts everyone in their place," Pique said. "In the end things will be sorted out. I am sure about that."

While taking part in a series of shows which are celebrating Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas moving to 100 senior international caps, Pique said his long-time friend and teammate had been a "pioneer" and "example" over the years, and the pair had shared information when they had both moved from Barcelona to England as teenagers.

"Cesc was a pioneer in going to London aged 16," he said. "Then we others went, and he was an example for me and for many people. When I was at Manchester United we used to call each other. When there was a Arsenal v Manchester United game we'd call each other to tell each other the starting teams."

Pique said he had asked Barcelona's directors to re-sign Fabregas back in 2011.

"I insisted with the club and the directors for Cesc to return to Barcelona," he said. "In the end we achieved it. He had doubts as Arsenal was his number one. We did it and we had three marvellous years with Cesc Fabregas."

Fabregas' departure for Chelsea in summer 2014 was a serious setback for Barca, Pique said.

"When he left again it was a hard blow because one of our best players was leaving," he said. "I understood his position, but it was a hard blow. He is a winner. We knew each other from very small, and when Cesc did not win he could not talk to you for a day, and would not answer your phonecalls."