Spain’s market regulator has fined former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué €200,000 ($236,000 ) for insider trading. The 2021 trade involved shares of a workplace safety firm bought two days before takeover talks went public.
Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) called the move a “very serious” market abuse offence on Monday. Piqué was sidelined with injury at Barcelona when he placed the order.
Inside Piqué’s Insider Trading Deal
The Spanish regulator said Piqué bought 104,166 shares in Aspy Global Services, an occupational health company, on January 20, 2021.
A tip from businessman Francisco José Elías Navarro alerted him to an incoming Atrys Health bid. Elías was then a major Aspy shareholder.
Atrys publicly announced its €223 million ($263 million) tender offer six days later, pushing Aspy’s stock up roughly 20%.
Piqué exited the position on January 27, banking an estimated €50,000 ($59,000) profit. Elías was separately fined €100,000 ($118,000) for unlawful disclosure.
Both men retain the right to appeal at Spain’s National High Court. The sanctions echo recent enforcement abroad, including a Thai SEC fine against Bitkub’s chief technology officer.
Athletes Draw Rising Insider Trading Scrutiny
Sports figures have increasingly drawn the attention of regulators and prosecutors. Golfer Phil Mickelson repaid roughly $931,000 in 2016 after trading Dean Foods shares on a tip from a gambler.
Former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in 2024.
Crypto-linked cases are also climbing. British sprinter CJ Ujah was recently charged in a UK probe into a seed-phrase fraud scheme.
The case arrived four years after a Tokyo 2020 doping ban derailed his athletics career. Separate lawsuits over the FTX collapse have ensnared athletes including Tom Brady and Stephen Curry.
Piqué’s resolution adds another high-profile name to a widening list of sports stars whose off-field finances draw regulatory action.
