Rubiales paid $25 million to Pique for Supercopa move to Saudi
Luis Rubiales is back under the microscope following evidence that he paid Gerard Pique and his company, Kosmos, to help move the Supercopa de España to Saudi Arabia. During a stream on Twitch, Gerard Pique revealed Rubiales reached out to Kosmos to move the tournament out of Spain. In doing so, the Spanish Football Federation made millions in revenue.
“The RFEF signed us to go abroad to look for possible options to carry the Spanish Super Cup,” Pique said during a press conference stream on his Twitch account. Spanish publication El Confidencial questioned the Spanish star about any professional ties he had with Luis Rubiales. In answering, Pique recognized a prior agreement he had with Rubiales authorizing him to negotiate with Saudi Arabia. The Spanish Federation denied Pique’s involvement for years. At the time, Pique was still an active player with Barcelona. Pique received a commission of $25 million for forming the relationship between Spanish soccer and Saudi Arabia. By comparison, FC Barcelona received just $8 million in the deal between the two that moved the Supercopa to the Middle East.
In response to his own comments, Gerard Pique has asked a judge to retract his words. The judge is investigating Pique’s dealings with Luis Rubiales amid the former head of Spanish Soccer’s exit. In that letter to the judge, Pique said his words were taken out of context. Rather than picking up a deal with RFEF, Pique and Kosmos only signed a commitment with Saudi Arabia.
Both Pique and RFEF hide behind the fact that Saudi Arabia paid Pique’s commission. However, according to El Confidencial, any exchange of funds is not possible without Rubiales. In other words, RFEF paid Pique to make this deal possible.
Pique picks up $25 million from RFEF in Supercopa deal, not Saudi Arabia
Pique is not in too much of a precarious position. His company earning such a large payout has been known for well over a year. However, the understanding was that Saudi Arabia paid this commission. Kosmos, Pique’s sports events company, helped the Spanish Federation earn roughly $45 million each time the Supercopa de España is in Saudi Arabia.
Previous reports indicated Rubiales provided Pique with preferential treatment. However, now it seems that treatment may have been payments from Spanish soccer, not Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this is a misuse of the Federation’s funds to pay an active player to mediate a deal.
PHOTO: IMAGO / AFLOSPORT