Gerard Pique being investigated for alleged corruption with Spanish FA

Former Spanish defender Gerard Pique has been accused of corruption at the Spanish FA during Luis Rubiales' presidency. The 2010 World Cup winner retired from international football in 2018 and then played his final match for FC Barcelona in 2022. The central defender has been accused of playing a role in a deal that saw the Spanish Super Cup and relocated to Saudi Arabia. 

In exchange for brokering the deal, Pique's company, Kosmos, reached arrangements with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to pay it €40 million (£34 million) and provide the RFEF €400 million (£340 million). The former footballer has been added to the list of people, part of an official inquiry into the suspected offenses.

On Thursday the investigation was carried out in Madrid court. For the past couple of years, the court has been investigating whether former RFEF president Luis Rubiales committed a crime of 'improper' administration when the federation agreed to move the event in cooperation with Piqué's Kosmos company. 

Will Pique end up in jail for his deeds?

The court said there are "possible illegalities with criminal implications" in the contracts, which included a clause to "guarantee the payment of a commission of four million euros per year to Kosmos." During March, Spanish police investigated 11 places, including the RFEF's Madrid offices and Rubiales' home in Granada, as part of an investigation into corruption and other offenses.

Rubiales was forced to resign as RFEF president in September after forcibly kissing Women's World Cup player Jenni Hermoso following Spain's victory in the Sydney final in August. The deal was re-opened after audio recordings between Rubiales and Pique were leaked which they spoke of multi-millions value commissions.

The former president defended the legality of the deal to take the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia. The former footballer also agreed and said it was “legal”, saying he was “proud” of the deal and for the first time, the Super Cup in 2020 was shifted to the Middle-east country.