Gerard Pique has been outstanding this season. That Barcelona are comfortably leading La Liga with an eight-point cushion over Atletico Madrid, are tantalisingly close to the Champions League quarterfinals and have already booked their place in the Copa del Rey final is certainly thanks in no small part to the excellent performances of the centre-back.
It is clear that Pique has fulfilled his obvious potential and, finally, stepped up as the defensive leader that Barcelona so desperately needed. Although the club's major strength has clearly been the unstoppable forward partnership of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, nobody can deny that every successful team needs to be robust defensively to achieve major success.
In many teams, a centre-half might be expected to mainly focus on tackling, aerial superiority and marinating a positional advantage over rival strikers. Further, there is a need to be powerful when hustling for the ball and having the required level of stamina to bringing a consistent physical threat.
At Barcelona, however, the task is different. While the above traits are essential, the ability to build both accurately and patiently from the back is absolutely imperative. Learning his trade at the world-famous La Masia academy certainly helped Pique to start attacking transitions from his own defensive third.
The four years he spent at Manchester United as a youngster were also vital in the Catalan's development, as being away from home and totally immersed in a complete alien football culture helped him mature as a player.
During his time in Old Trafford, the young Pique also became aware of different defensive mechanisms and had the message reinforced that success can only be achieved by those who make sacrifices and tackle their weaknesses.
At Barca, Pique performs best alongside Javier Mascherano. While the Argentinean had previously excelled as a holding midfielder, he has established himself as the perfect complement at the heart of defence.
Mascherano might not have been convinced when Pep Guardiola first played him alongside Pique in the middle of the Blaugranas' back-line, but his many stellar performances since prove the experiment certainly worked.
In the absence of Mascherano, Luis Enrique has preferred to field Jeremy Mathieu, Thomas Vermaelen and Marc Bartra -- in that exact particular order -- as Pique's partner.
Although the three reserve centre-backs are all very different in terms of passing, tackling, positioning, physicality and aerial ability, all three seem much more comfortable playing alongside Pique than with each other. In fact, Barca's defensive line has struggled significantly whenever their main man.
Despite his consistently stellar performances and influential leadership, though, it sometimes feels as if Pique makes news more often due to his off-the-pitch activities than his excellence on it.
Far more active on social media than the average footballer, he can be funny and controversial in the messages he regularly publishes to a combined 31 million followers. It is definitely not surprising to see why post goes viral, while being married to Shakira also contributes to Pique's popularity.
However, sceptical fans might argue that continued exposure could be detrimental, not only to his own performances but to those of the team. Sure, Barca are currently on a record 36-match unbeaten run but, when the inevitable happens and results are no longer as positive, the reaction might be far less understanding and eager to accept constant social media updates with a smile.
It is perhaps time for either manager Luis Enrique or club president Josep Maria Bartomeu to have a quiet word with the defender and ask that he tones down his current level of activity, particularly if, as reports have suggested, his teammates are not comfortable with being thrust into the social media limelight.
Indeed, when the likes of Mascherano and Lionel Messi demand that you to stop doing something, it is definitely time to reconsider the current approach. Let's hope the unnecessary noise that Pique's social media activity is creating either stops altogether or, at least, decreases to an acceptable level with the interests of his treble-chasing team in mind.