The former central defender of Barça and the national team now serves as the director and adjudicator of the competition he created.
Since hanging up his boots not long ago, Gerard Piqué has stepped away from playing duties to concentrate on his business ventures. One of these ventures, the Kings League, operates under his leadership as president. Yet he has chosen not to step onto the field himself for any of the twelve teams that participate in the regular phase, letting others carry the flag while he oversees the competition from a different vantage point.
What is Gerard Piqué’s role in the 2023 Kings League and why he is not president or playing in any team
In his extensive football career, Piqué believes he already shouldered enough on-pitch responsibilities to justify stepping back from daily team duties after retirement. He preferred to focus on governance and strategy rather than join a squad’s ranks. This choice places him in a position many players avoid: he acts as the league’s organizer and ultimate referee, ensuring the competition runs fairly from behind a desk rather than from a pitch. His role is to shape the structure, enforce rules, and resolve disputes, not to influence match results through play. This separation is deliberate—a clear boundary between leadership and competition, designed to preserve integrity while allowing the league to experiment with new formats under his watch (Goal).
Why isn’t he president or playing on any team?
If Piqué had chosen to lace up his boots again, he would have had to divert time from his other ambitious projects and personal life. That reality explains why he did not sign with any Kings League club. Beyond time management, there was a potential conflict of interest. Critics pointed to past revelations about his business group Kosmos and its agreements with the Royal Spanish Football Federation to bring the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia and distribute the proceeds among participants. By keeping a distance from the pitch, Piqué avoids directly shaping results and, at the same time, shields the Kings League from accusations of favoritism or governance concerns. He has repeatedly emphasized that his priority is building a competitive and entertaining product where the outcome is decided on the field by the players, not by those who run the league (Goal).
Ultimately, the approach reflects a broader trend in modern sports where founders pivot from on-field glory to organizational stewardship. Piqué’s stance highlights the difference between being a decision-maker and being a participant, a distinction he uses to maintain credibility as the league expands and seeks to attract new fans and investors across North America and beyond.