The former soccer player and businessman Gerard Piqué has declared this morning in the courts of Majadahonda, where he was cited as investigated for the role he played, together with the former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales, in the negotiations that took the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia and for which a cousin of four million annually was agreed for the company of which he is a founding partner. Piqué has arrived shortly after nine in the morning to the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 4 of Majadahonda, dressed in a suit and with a smile. He has eluded, yes, make any statement to the press. The same as on leaving, minutes before 12 noon. In his statement, he has responded only to the judge, to the prosecutor and his lawyer, but not to the parties. Piqué’s defense has focused on confirming that effectively the contract with Arabia was signed thanks to his speech, but that it is a habitual operation, with the usual commissions, thus defending their legality, always agree with his story. He has also explained, according to sources present in the Chamber, that the addendum was signed to the original contract, with which he claimed to collect commissions for three more years, “for the relationship of trust” with the RFEF.
Piqué has asked for a last statement before leaving the Chamber and has told the judge that he is suffering a lot, that the case has influenced his reputation. So, he has broken to cry.
The judge investigates “possible illegalities” in the agreements between the RFEF and the Saudi Entity Sela Sports. Agreements in which Gerard Piqué’s company consists as a key figure of the negotiation, at that time still FC Barcelona player, a team that participated in the competition, and who exercised as a “third part”. He supercop It is only part of the so -called Brodie operation, which investigates an alleged illegal plot within the Federation led by Rubiales and will have to respond for the possible crimes of corruption, unfair administration and money laundering.
The latest documents sent on the case by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard to the head of the Court of First Instance and Instruction 4 of Majadahonda (Madrid), Delia Rodrigo, directly pointed to the former soccer player. As explained a few months ago in this newspaper, the journalist Óscar López Fonseca, the UCO prepared a report in which Gerard Piqué concludes was “active part” in the contract The agreement for the dispute of the parties of this competition in that country was reflected in an agreement for 264 million euros signed in 2019 between the then president of the Federation, a Saudi company and the merchant company Kosmos, of which he is founder. Piqué, who charged a commission for it.
As a culmination of the police document, the UCO agents raised the magistrate the need to deliver a rogatory commission (request for judicial assistance) to the Saudi authorities to request information on the possible existence of open bank accounts in the name of the former soccer player, Rubiales and another 10 other people, as well as a fortnight of companies, many of them linked to Piqué. The agents argue that this information is fundamental “for the complete investigation of the investigated facts” and, specifically, “to elucidate not only everything concerning the negotiation for the celebration of the Spanish Soccer Super Cup, but also with presumable occasion of this.”
Previously, and in search of financial assets of the alleged involved, among which the former president of the RFEF stands out.
The researchers said in their day that, after the appointment of Rubiales as president of the RFEF, this agency raised the celebration of the Super Cup tournament – which faces the two finalists of the Copa del Rey and the first two classified of the League of each year – outside of Spain. “Among the different intermediaries that offered their services to negotiate, it should be noted that Piqué was an active part in the process through the society of its representative [Arturo Canales] AC Talent, ”details the report, highlighting that this company“ received a mandate of exclusivity ”signed by the Federation to find“ business options ”by the Super Cup in the United States, China and Japan. “In this context, contacts were established with Amazon and Sony about different alternatives for the tournament celebration,” he adds.
While this was happening, in January 2019, the RFEF received a message from another businessman, Alfonso Roberes, in which he informed him of Sela’s interest in taking the rights of the tournament with an offer that his emissary described as “very attractive that they have never done before a Super Cup match”. The UCO emphasizes that the proposal received a negative response, although only a few days later the Federation itself met directly with the Saudi company with the intermediation of Kosmos, the Piqué society, “ending by agreeing the start of the negotiations.” Finally, the agreement was signed on September 11 between both parties.
The police report states that from the succession of events “it has been inferred that the intermediation carried out by Kosmos would have really been exercised in favor of the RFEF and not of Sela”, as initially presented. In previous police reports, it was already stressed that in the agreement, the Federation attributed “a position of guarantor” so that the company of Piqué received the so -called “success of success”. This consisted of three million euros that the Saudi company promised to pay Kosmos every year if among the teams that disputed the competition were Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
The UCO details that the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 prevented the tournament from being held in 2021, which “forced the RFEF to already propose a new negotiation scenario given the inviability of compliance with the contract.” According to the investigators of the intervened messages, “in these new negotiations in which the possibility of terminating the agreement and the search for a new headquarters were shown, Kosmos intermediate again” in a process in which “the contacts between Piqué and Rubiales occurred.” The Federation ended up signing some addenda to the original contract to extend it with the same conditions until 2029. “In this way, the RFEF was guaranteed the collection of 40 million euros per year for three more years, as well as Kosmos the collection of its annual commission of 4 million euros,” emphasizes the police document.
