'Anti-Pique' clause to be set in motion in Spain due to Barcelona defender's recent commercial activities with the Spanish FA: Reports

An 'anti-Pique' clause is set to be introduced in Spain due to the Barcelona defender's commercial activities involving the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

Pique's company, Kosmos, was involved in making a deal with Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales to shift the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, Spanish newspaper El Confidencial released exchanged WhatsApp voice messages between Pique and Rubiales alleging that Kosmos reportedly pocketed a staggering €24 million for brokering a six-year deal. There was no funds transfer that happened between Rubiales and Pique, but the latter was paid by the country of Saudi Arabia, an arrangement that is legal.

However, according to AS, as reported by SPORTible, a new sports law, known as the 'anti-Pique clause', is set to be introduced by the governing body. As stated by article 47, the rule will prohibit any active player from being commercially involved with a competition in which they may potentially participate.

Below is an overview of the regulations which states:

"For the organization of these activities and official sports competitions at the state level, no commercial relationship may be established with an active athlete who is likely to participate in them."

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique ruled out any wrongdoing in the deal with Spanish FA

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique

Pique denied doing anything wrong or pocketing any extra amount of money through the deal. The Barcelona defender maintained that the deal was completely legal and stated the following on his Twitch stream (via the aforementioned source):

“Everything we have done is legal, I’m going to expose my part in the conflict of interest, I want to show my face because I have nothing to hide. I am proud of what we do at Kosmos. We wanted to change the format of the competition and make it more interesting for the viewer. That has repercussions on income. The president, Luis Rubiales, really liked the idea."

Pique added:

"The commission? In the world that we live in, it’s relatively normal. It moves between 10 and 15% and we believed that it was in line with what agencies charge for carrying out this type of management. The commission is in line with the market."

The Spanish Super Cup has been taking place in the Middle-East since 2020. Real Madrid, Real Betis, Barcelona, and Valencia will be the four teams taking part in the 2023 edition of the tournament.