Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has taken advantage of Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain as his company Kosmos Holdings has bought the TV rights to show Ligue 1 matches in Spain.
The move comes just days ahead of PSG’s league match away to Reims, where it is expected that Messi will make his long- awaited debut for the club.
The Argentine put pen to paper on a two-year deal at the Parisian club earlier this month after ending his career-long association with Barca, who were unable to register him on a new contract.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have already begun their Ligue 1 campaign with a full winning start from their opening matches against Troyes, Strasbourg and Brest - although they have conceded five goals across those games.
Messi was unable to reach match fitness to be involved in any of those encounters but will be in the matchday squad for this weekend’s clash.
The 34-year-old’s potential debut will be streamed free-to-air on the Twitch channel of Ibai Llanos, a famous Spanish streamer and esports commentator, who is a close friend of Messi.
Spanish television channel Telecinco will also show the match on free-to-air TV, with Messi’s debut expecting to generate significant interest levels across Spain.
Pique’s Kosmos company - which also bought the rights to the Copa America final in the summer, when Messi won his first international trophy as Argentina ousted Brazil - bought the rights in collaboration with Enjoy TV, with it expected that they will sub-license it to a Spanish TV channel.
As outlined recently by Football Espana, the move comes after Kosmos failed in a move to buy 49 percent of Barca Corporate, which incorporates various areas of Barcelona including Barca licensing, Barca studios, Barca Innovation Hub and Barca Academy.
The Catalan club’s statutes overruled the central defender’s attempts due to the fact that he was still a player in La Liga.
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Pique’s business ventures are growing and he is also the owner of FC Andorra - a side in Spanish football’s regionalised third division.
Kosmos took full responsibility for the club’s debt in January 2019 - when the club were in the fifth tier - after FC Andorra’s directors sanctioned the move at a general meeting.
Pique’s company Kosmos also have made business moves in tennis, esports, video games, eyeglasses, isotonic drinks and organic hamburgers.
Now aged 34, Pique remains an important member of Barca’s first-team squad and has made 568 first-team appearances for the club since re-joining from Manchester United in 2008.
He has won a plethora of trophies with the club including eight La Liga titles and three Champions League crowns.
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