Barcelona defender Gerard Pique may not be available to play against Leganes on Saturday due to his business interests.
Blaugrana boss Ernesto Valverde told reporters on Friday that the experienced central defender may not be available due to his company Kosmos’s involvement in the tennis competition the Davis Cup.
It comes amid somewhat of a defensive crisis for the side – Clement Lenglet is out injured while Nelson Semedo, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba are among the other players unavailable.
The Davis Cup – described as the premier international team event in men's tennis – has been revamped this year with Kosmos playing a pivotal role and investing a whopping €3billion over a 25-year period.
Pique has had a busy week – he has been training with his Barca teammates in the mornings before travelling to Madrid every day to attend matches in the late afternoon and evening, before then travelling back.
“We will see when we name the team if he's in condition to play,” Valverde told a pre-match press conference on Friday, as cited by ESPN.
“I've spoken with him about these issues and he seems focused. He has things that he does outside of football.
“Curiously, when players say they don't know how to do anything but football, they're criticised, and then when they do… If I think he's focused and ready to play, he will play. If not, someone else will.”
