Gerard Pique became a Premier League and Champions League winner at Man Utd before going on to win 30 more trophies at Barcelona, including another three European Cups and nine La Liga titles, while he also helped Spain to glory at both the World Cup and European Championship. He is one of the most decorated Spanish players ever, and will no doubt also claim to be among the most business savvy.
In 2017, Pique founded Kosmos Global Holding with the backing of Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani. As a sports, media, and entertainment holding company and venture builder, Kosmos quickly became a force to be reckoned with, signing a 25-year contract worth £3 billion with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to manage and reshape the Davis Cup, and completing a takeover of Spanish lower league club FC Andorra.
Kosmos went on to launch Kings League, the seven-a-side indoor football competition featuring internet streamers and several unconventional rules, which has secured over £160m in total funding and lured in adidas and Netflix as partners. The ITF contract was cancelled in 2023 due to financial disputes, but Pique has since put more focus into the Kings League and FC Andorra projects, both of which are thriving.
FC Andorra have risen from the fifth tier to La Liga 2 on his watch, while Kings League has branched out by establishing the women’s equivalent Queens League, Kings League Americas, and the Kings League World Cup. As if all that wasn’t enough, Pique also co-founded the isotonic drink brand 426 Miles with fellow Barcelona legend Carlos Puyol, and co-founded eFootball.Pro in partnership with Konami, with his personal net worth thought to stand at around £80m.