Piqué loses the Davis Cup

Gerard Piqué isn’t having a good day. After being ripped by former partner Shakira in her new song, he has also lost the rights to the Davis Cup, international tennis’ premium country vs country tournament.

According to 2Playbook, a portal specializing in the field of sports business, as confirmed by sources at Kosmos, the company owned by Gerard Piqué which held the rights, the relationship between the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Kosmos has been terminated after the parties failed to agree royalties for the next edition - they had been set at some $40 million per event.

Kosmos and ITF fail to agree over royalties

Kosmos argued that the figure was exorbitant given the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the business, a phenomenon that was unforeseen when the agreement was signed. The agreement was to run for 25 years with an investment of up to three billion dollars. The figures paid to the ITF in 2020 and 2021 were significantly lower, with the global situation being taken into account. Last year the payment was around $32 million with that figure rising over the next two years to $36 million first and then $44 million later.

Kosmos argues that with the income it receives from the different venues (this year it went to a format of four in the group phase, with the final phase in Malaga) - some 20 million - is insufficient to cover the investment, which in addition to the royalties includes other organizational costs and the prize pot, of around $10 million, leaving little financial muscle to reinvest in improvements.

Fall out from break in Davis Cup agreement

It now remains to be seen what will happen with the contracts in place with the venues. Málaga has agreed to host another year of the final phase and Valencia another four years of the group phase, with the intention of applying to be the venue for the final phase when the works on the Casal España Arena, the macro pavilion being built in the city, are finished.

Kosmos confirmed to this newspaper that they have not ruled out getting involved in other sports competitions, although at this time they did not confirm any clear intention. They believe that their participation in the Davis Cup over the years has strengthened their brand and has allowed them to grow in other business areas such as player management.. They recently signed several major players including Russian Andrey Rublev and Croatian Borna Coric to their portfolio of players.