Gerard Pique, a Barcelona and Spain legend, will appear in court on March 14 as part of a corruption investigation into the Spanish Super Cup’s move to Saudi Arabia, according to a legal document obtained by AFP on Friday.
The investigation has further tarnished Spanish football’s image and ensnared disgraced former federation chief Luis Rubiales, who was in charge at the time of the decision.
In May last year, a Madrid court opened an investigation into Pique regarding the contracts to bring the Super Cup to the oil-rich Gulf country beginning in 2020.
The deals, worth 40 million euros ($41.2 million) per year, were arranged by Kosmos, a company owned by Pique, while the former defender was still playing for Barcelona.
The court stated that there were “possible illegalities with criminal implications,” including a condition that guaranteed “the payment of a commission of four million euros per year to Kosmos.”
According to a document dated Thursday from a court in Majadahonda outside Madrid, “the declaration of Mr Gerard Pique as an investigated party is agreed on March 14.”
Rubiales, who faces possible jail time for his forced kiss on star forward Jenni Hermoso in 2023, has always defended the legality of the deal to take the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Pique has also stated that everything was “legal” and that he was “proud” of the agreement.
