A Spanish court has ordered an official investigation into former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique over the Spanish Super Cup’s Saudi Arabia deal.
A formal investigation has been launched over the former La Roja defender’s alleged role in a deal that saw the Spanish Super Cup relocated to Saudi Arabia as per The Athletic. In exchange for brokering the arrangement, Pique’s company Kosmos negotiated agreements with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) that would pay it €40 million (£34 million) and give the RFEF €400 million (£340 million). The 37-year-old has now been formally added to the list of individuals who are the subject of an official inquiry into the suspected offences.
READ ALSO: PSG hold Mbappe’s wages amid financial dispute
Since June 2022, the court has been looking into whether former RFEF president Luis Rubiales committed a crime of ‘improper’ management when the federation decided to shift the event in conjunction with Piqué’s Kosmos business. In March, police informed Rubiales—who has denied any wrongdoing—that he was a suspect in the investigation after he returned from two months in the Dominican Republic on what he characterised as a work vacation. In the corruption investigation, police searched Rubiales’ house and the headquarters of the RFEF in March and detained seven individuals during the search.
Pique played twice for Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia and on both occasions, Barcelona and Pique failed to make it to the final. It wasn’t until after Pique’s sudden retirement in November of 2022, that the Catalan side won the tournament.
The former defender has taken a hobby of streaming on Twitch over the last year, and it is expected that he will respond to the charge in due time. Meanwhile, the investigations will continue in the background.