Speaking on Twitch late on Monday night, Gerard Piqué faced the media to discuss the audio recordings stolen from the Spanish FA.
In the recordings, the Barcelona player is heard helping to negotiate €24 million in commission for the Spanish FA to play the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
“I have nothing to hide, everything we have done is legal. I will give my side of the story in terms of the conflict of interest. It’s not something I will hide, I feel proud because we have done a spectacular job.
“[The audio was] leaked with bad intentions and making news of something which two years ago was not news. The only illegal thing is leaking the audios.“
Piqué is the founder and President of Kosmos, an investment company involved in the transformation of the Davis Cup.
According to a report in El Confidencial, and supported by documents and audio, the president of the Spanish FA, Luis Rubiales, pressured the Riyadh authorities to pay the Barcelona defender.
“We [Kosmos] have good links with the Middle East, not just in Saudi Arabia,” Piqué continued.
“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 Super Cup there. He liked the idea. And now people are 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, and they [Spanish FA] had an offer from Qatar.”
GSFN
