AS.com

Barcelona held a ceremony on Tuesday for fans who completed 25 years as club members in 2012.

Among the members who received a special badge from the club was one Gerard Piqué, who expressed his pride at becoming the first Barcelona player to reach this milestone while still playing for 'Los Azulgranas', and thanked his grandfather, who signed him up as a member shortly after his birth.

"I would like to thank my grandfather, without him I wouldn't be here," said the defender. "I want to thank him for everything he has done for me, for showing me love and for making me a Barcelona member. It's a unique feeling to form part of the FC Barcelona family, when you grow up you realize what this club means and you see how much people enjoy watching their team, and how much they suffer in the stadium, it makes me very proud."

Piqué told fellow members they should be happy with the club's success in recent years, declaring: "We have all experienced great moments, plus some bad moments, in which we have been unable to eat and sleep. But if we think about the past, we cannot complain, we have had some fantastic years and we have to continue to enjoy this club, which belongs to us, the members, and that's what makes us great."

Piqués grandfather Amador Bernabéu attended the ceremony and revealed that as soon as the Barça centre-back's girlfriend Shakira gives birth to their first child in 2013, the new-born will become a member of Barcelona.