Gerard Pique made more from Spanish Super Cup than Barcelona and Real Madrid

Gerard Pique earned more from the Spanish Super Cup than Barcelona and Real Madrid earned from participating in the competition.

Traditionally the Super Cup would see the La Liga and Copa del Rey winners lock horns in a fixture prior to the start of the season but Pique, through his Kosmos company, helped facilitate a deal which saw the format revamped.

Since January 2020, the Super Cup has featured four teams as opposed to two - and three of the last four tournaments have taken place in Saudi Arabia.

A six-year contract was negotiated and Pique was key in brokering the deal with Luis Rubiales, president of (RFEF) the Spanish FA.

According to SPORT, the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) were paid €40 million by Saudi Arabia and finalists Barcelona and Real received €2.8 million.

Valencia got €1.7 million and €750,000 was handed over to Real Betis, last season's Copa del Rey winners.

Pique's firm took €4 million in commission and with €23.7 million in the pot after those outgoings, €20 million is set to be redistributed within Spanish football.

Image: Alamy

The retired former Barcelona and Spain defender's audio messages with Rubiales from September 2019 were leaked last year and put Pique, who has the 'Kings League' and Davis Cup as projects, well in the spotlight.

In response, he denied wrongdoing and claimed his commission fee was "relatively normal" and "in line with the market".

“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," he said on Twitch.

"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.

“Saudi Arabia was not the only option. The United States and Qatar were on the table. In the end, they decided to go to Saudi Arabia.

“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."

Image: Alamy

However, in October it was reported that an "anti Pique clause" is poised to be introduced, banning any active player from having commercial links with a competition they may well participate in.

Barca beat Real 3-1 in the 2023 final to win the trophy for the first time since 2018.