Alex Trelinski
FORMER Barcelona defender Gerard Pique broke down in tears when quizzed by a Madrid judge on Friday over an alleged corrupt business deal.
It involved a lucrative agreement that saw Spanish Super Cup matches being hosted in Saudi Arabia.
Pique in a closing statement told the judge that he has ‘suffered a lot’ and that the case had tarnished his reputation, before bursting into tears.
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Pique earlier stated that all the commissions he made were ‘normal’.
A court is probing suspicions of corruption and money laundering following a big deal made by former Spanish football federation president, Luis Rubiales, in 2019.
Rubiales himself has achieved infamy for his Jenni Hermoso kiss in August 2023 and was convicted last month of sexual assault.
The Madrid court has said the Spanish federation and the Saudi Arabian company Sela Sports signed contracts in 2019 and 2020 to seal a 10-year agreement to host the Super Cup tournament for €40 million per annum.
An additional €4 million per year was to be paid as a commission to Pique’s sports entertainment company Kosmos while Pique was still playing for Barcelona and participating in the Super Cup.
Pique, the former husband of pop star Shakira, subsequently retired from soccer and has denied doing anything wrong.
Prosecutors started an investigation of the deal in 2022 following leaked audio between Rubiales and Pique regarding millions of euros in commissions.
Rubiales pleaded his innocence when questioned by the judge in April last year, while Pique was placed under investigation the following month.
The case is still in its early ‘investigative’ phase with the judge deciding whether or not there is enough evidence to take the matter to trial.
