Piqué defends the legality of his management in the contract for the Supercopa de España

The controversial contract that the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Saudi Arabian government signed to transfer the Supercopa de España to Saudi territory starting from the 2019/20 season continues to be a hot topic five years later. This Friday, Gerard Piqué was summoned to testify at the Court of Instruction number 4 in Majadahonda due to the conflict of interest in which the former FC Barcelona player may have been involved as part of the negotiations.

According to information leaked by Europa Press, the now Catalan businessman denied having paid any commission to the RFEF or its former president, Luis Rubiales, for them to accept the offer from the Saudi public company SELA, through which the Arab government has managed the agreement for the Supercopa de España, which theoretically will continue to be held in Saudi Arabia until 2030.

Likewise, Piqué stated that the commission of 4 million euros per year that the business group Kosmos, which he presides over, received for the agreement is completely legal, as the former Barça and Spanish National Team defender acted as an associated agent to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAAF) and not to the RFEF.

Piqué lamented the "reputational damage" caused by the Supercopa trial

Therefore, there should not be a threat of a conflict of interest, beyond the unusual nature of an active football player being part of a negotiation of such magnitude for the football of his country. The Kosmos commission is valid for a period of 10 years and the judge in charge of the case blocked in April 2024 the account in which the business group had been receiving payments from the SAAF, which reached 12 million euros at the time the case was opened.

Gerard's statement took about 2 hours and the former player ended up visibly emotional, lamenting through tears the perjury resulting from a trial that calls into question his reputation for an agreement that, in any other country, would have been welcomed. With the transfer of the Supercopa to Saudi Arabia, the Federation has obtained revenues of around 51 'kilos' annually.