Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique has denied any wrongdoing in terms of bringing the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia. The defender’s Kosmos agency was responsible for moving the location of the competition and giving it its current format.
The Spanish Super Cup in all, is worth €40 million to the federation. Pique’s agency is receiving a 10% commission, equivalent to €4 million per edition of the Super Cup. Following leaked audio released by hackers, there has been speculation about the legality of the actions of the federation and Kosmos agency.
Gerard Pique denies wrongdoing in Spanish Super Cup move
“I have nothing to hide, everything we have done is legal,” Pique said during a stream on his Twitch channel on Monday. “I will give my side of the story in terms of the conflict of interest. It’s not something I will hide from, I feel proud because we have done a spectacular job.”
The federation and Saudi Arabia signed a six-year deal in 2020 to move the tournament and create the last four format. In the leaked audio recordings, Pique told the officials that the money would be split between the clubs and the federation would keep €6 million.
“If we talk about conflict of interest, we talk from a prism that has to do with ethical procedures. We all know that there is nothing illegal here,” Spanish FA Head of Communications Pablo Garcia Cuervo told Cadena Ser.
“Pique is a businessman who has an agency that operates internationally with major events and has great contacts. All he does is put us in touch with Saudi Arabia. As a former international, he has a good relationship with the president. It is not a conflict of interest, but he is putting on a tray an extraordinary operation for Spanish football.
