Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has defended himself in his role in negotiations to take the Spanish Supercopa to Saudi Arabia in a new format.
Pique’s company Kosmos were involved in the process which saw RFEF president Luis Rubiales decide to shake the competition up.
The Barça defender does not believe what he did represents “a conflict of interests.” He said: “A commercial issue has nothing to do with results on the pitch.”
Before taking questions, he added: “I want to show my face because I have nothing to hide. I am very proud of the work we have done with Kosmos.”
On the process of what happened, Pique explained: “We (Kosmos) have good links with the Middle East, not just in Saudi Arabia. They wanted to take football competitions there and, seeing the panoramic, we opted to speak with Rubiales to see if he could be interested in taking the Supercopa there.
“He liked the idea. And now people are super hooked on the (new format) of the competition. Once accepted, we signed a mandate to explore options. Saudi Arabia wasn’t the only one, we spoke with Miami, (the RFEF) had an offer from Qatar.”
He also spoke about the 10 percent commission he made, arguing it’s below market value.
“In the world we move in that is relatively low,” he said. “It can be 15 or 20 percent.”
On the leaked audios, he said they “were taken out of context,” “leaked with bad intentions,” and “illegally so” at that.
Need a VPN? Or seeking to switch? Then support Tribal Football by clicking here to sign up with our official partners NordVPN. Not only will you receive the best VPN experience, but also great discounts by signing up via Tribal Football. Thanks for your support!
Be the first to comment