The National Times - Pique denies Rubiales kickbacks in Spanish Super Cup move to Saudi

The Barcelona and Spain legend testified in court as a suspect in a corruption investigation into the lucrative contracts that took the tournament to the oil-rich Gulf state from 2020.

The deals are worth 40 million euros a year and were brokered by Kosmos, a company owned by Pique, while the former defender was still playing for Barcelona.

The court that placed Pique under investigation last year had said there were "possible illegalities with criminal implications", including a clause to "guarantee the payment of a commission of four million euros per year to Kosmos".

Pique told a court in Majadahonda near Madrid on Friday that he paid "nothing" to Rubiales or anyone else from the federation, according to legal sources.

The sources added that Pique started crying and spoke of "the reputational damage" the media coverage of the deal had caused over three years.

"I am surprised that as of today there are still leaks," he said.

The testimony comes with proceedings at an investigative stage and a trial could follow if formal charges are presented.

The suspicions surrounding the Super Cup move further sullied the image of Spanish football and Rubiales, who last month was found guilty of sexual assault for forcibly kissing star forward Jenni Hermoso in 2023.

Rubiales was fined 10,800 euros and cleared of coercing Hermoso to downplay the scandal, in a sentence that feminist groups slammed for being too lenient.

Both Hermoso and Rubiales have appealed the verdict, while prosecutors, who had sought two-and-a-half years in jail against him, have demanded the trial be rerun.

The transfer to Saudi Arabia, which expanded the tournament to a four-team format, was one of several controversies during Rubiales' tenure as head of the football federation and angered traditionalists.

E.Cox--TNT