Gerard Pique asks for help to play at Olympics in leaked audio – Home of the Olympic Channel

MADRID Gerard Piqu asked for help from the president of the Spanish soccer federation to play at the Tokyo Olympics, audio stolen from the federation revealed Wednesday.

The details, published by the El Confidencial newspaper, came after other audio had revealed that the Barcelona defender helped to negotiate a $26 million commission to take the federations Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.

Piqu can be heard asking federation president Luis Rubiales to talk to Olympic team coach Luis de la Fuente and set up a meeting between them.

You have to do this for me, Rubi, you have to make it happen, Piqu said. We have to keep it a secret and talk to the coach Ill go to Madrid and we sit with him. We have to do it in a way that its not out anywhere. The three of us have to keep this very secret until the end, dont you think?

Rubiales agreed to talk to the coach but said it would be up to De la Fuente to decide what to do.

Yes, we have to keep it a secret, and if the coach wants to do it, lets go ahead with it, Id be thrilled, Rubiales said.

Piqu said he didnt want the information leaked to keep other players from trying to request the same thing. He said he had heard that Sergio Ramos also wanted to play and likely leaked that to the media to try to pressure the coach.

The president eventually talked to De la Fuente and said the coach asked to wait until the national team had secured its qualification for the Olympic tournament.

He said that after the team qualifies he will talk to you, Rubiales said. I dont want to pressure him. He said he would like to talk to you, but after the team qualifies.

Rubiales spoke publicly for the first time in a news conference on Wednesday and said that Piqu was not the only player who talked to him about going to the Olympics.

I talked to De la Fuente about him and about other players as well, Rubiales said. I told him that some called and that he had to make his own decision. Piqu wasnt the only player who called.

Neither Piqu nor Ramos made it to the Olympic squad, which ended with the silver medal after losing to Brazil in the final. The over-23 players called up to the team were Mikel Merico, Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos.

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Gerard Pique asks for help to play at Olympics in leaked audio - Home of the Olympic Channel