Neymar Kidnaps Piqué and 8 More Big Moments in the Kings League Final
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This past Sunday, former FC Barcelona player Gerard Piqué became known for something other than being the main character in ex-partner Shakira’s diss track. Now, he’s the person who sold out his former club’s famed stadium, Camp Nou, with his Twitch-focused soccer league—and that was before his real stunts began.
In true Kings League spirit, the tournament’s Final Four matchup, the biggest in-person event ever held by a Twitch streamer, ended with several bombshells that astounded viewers and encouraged them to keep on watching the show. The biggest surprise was one Piqué had been teasing for days: Neymar, his former teammate and current player at Paris Saint-Germain F.C., was joining the Kings League.
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“There’s only ever been one king, and he was Brazilian,” Neymar said in a hilarious video announcing that he would preside over his own team.
In the video, Piqué revealed that the Kings League would soon launch a tournament in Brazil, which is one of the future markets Kings League CEO Oriol Querol referenced in an interview with Gizmodo in February. It’s unclear when the matches in Brazil will take place; neither Piqué, Neymar, nor Querol gave dates.
In May, the Kings League chief will launch the second split of the Kings League as well as the Queens League, a competition for women’s indoor soccer. Like the Kings League, the Queens League will feature 12 teams helmed over by famous streamers and other celebrities in the Spanish-speaking world, including Gemita, Mayichi, and Morena Beltrán.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the Kings League final if Piqué and company didn’t try to shock and awe at least a few more times. Click through to check out the other crazy things that happened, including breaking a Guinness World Record, chanting Lionel Messi’s name at Camp Nou, and invoking Shakira.
Neymar will join the Kings League in Brazil along with Ronaldinho
For those that came to read simply because of the headline of this post, this is for you. As I mentioned earlier, Piqué announced the addition of Neymar in a video where Neymar enlists Kings League streamer-presidents Gerard Romero and Spursito to kidnap Piqué. The funniest thing about this, in my humble opinion, is that Neymar calls Piqué “Geri,” which is just hilarious because it makes it sound like he’s a toddler when he is in fact very, very tall. Piqué, for his part, calls Neymar “Ney” and said he wasn’t surprised at all the trouble his former teammate had caused. You can watch the video (in Spanish only) here.
Besides announcing Neymar as a team president for the Brazilian Kings League, Piqué also announced that Ronaldinho would be heading up his own team as well. Ronaldinho previously played in a Kings League match with Porcinos, or “swine,” Twitch megastar Ibai’s team.
Gerard Piqué broke the Guinness World Record for most people wearing costume masks at once
While planning the Kings League final, Piqué suddenly thought it would be cool to break a Guinness World Record and promote the Kings League. He decided to try to break the record for the most people wearing costume masks at the same time, which was set in 2015 in the Philippines, where 30,050 wore smiley face masks. Staff put a paper mask with the Kings League logo on every seat at Camp Nou, which sold out the event with 92,522 spectators. Needless to say, the record was broken.
The Kings League finals became the biggest in-person event ever hosted by a Twitch streamer
At first glance, it’s easy to write off a three-month old soccer league with made-up rules, but the finals made it certain that no one would ever forget the Kings League’s impact. Gizmodo confirmed that the Final Four matchup was the biggest in-person event ever held by a Twitch streamer, drawing in 92,522 attendees.
Piqué and the team presidents arrived at the game via helicopter
As any Kings League fan will tell you, Piqué loves a spectacle. The Kings League chief made sure his entrance to Camp Nou couldn’t be ignored by arriving with the four finalist presidents in a helicopter with the championship cup in tow.
Police escorted the Kings League finalists teams to Camp Nou
Shortly after the Kings League’s debut in January, Javier Tebas, head of the Spanish professional soccer league LaLiga, called the Kings League a “circus” and waved it off as a competitor. He also insinuated that the league wouldn’t last in the long run.
The crowds that welcomed the Kings League finalist teams at Camp Nou clearly proved Tebas wrong. They gave the teams, escorted by local police, a hero’s welcome.
The crowd chanted Lionel Messi’s name at Camp Nou
Messi’s contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires on June 30 and his next steps are still an open question. Sergio “el Kun” Agüero, Messi’s best friend and president of Kunisports in the Kings League, implied recently that Messi would be open to returning to FC Barcelona if the club president, Joan Laporta, reached out to ask him.
As many soccer fans know, Messi made a name for himself on the world stage at FC Barcelona, which was longing for him to come back as soon as he left for PSG. At the Kings League finals, xBuyer, one of the tournament’s streamer-presidents, asked the crowd who wanted Messi to return to FC Barcelona, which sparked a chorus of “Messi, Messi, Messi” at the stadium.
Shakira was referenced more than once
Piqué name is inextricably linked with Shakira’s in the press as their messy separation plays out in public, most notably in the singer’s “Bzrp Music Sessions #53,” which has spread like wildfire since its release in January. The day of the Kings League final was no exception. During the freestyle rap battle, streamer TheGrefg asked the rappers to include references to Shakira in their freestyles. Piqué was talking to other streamers at the moment and didn’t appear to react.
Meanwhile, in the livestream’s ending credits, Piqué included the name of his current girlfriend, Clara Chía, who Shakira also referenced in her song. (Chía works at his company, Kosmos, which organizes the Kings League.)
The team in last place took home the Kings League cup
In the end, the team that no one thought could win, “El Barrio,” took home the championship cup. The team, led by TikToker Adri Contreras, one of the presidents with the smallest audiences, barely made it to the playoffs, where it began in 8th place. On Friday, El Barrio shocked everyone by making it to the Final Four and made history as the first Kings League champion.
The other Kings League presidents were awed.
“El Barrio is the Kings League champion,” Ibai, president of one of the strongest teams of the regular season, Porcinos, said on Twitter. “Life is incredible.”
The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, joined Piqué in congratulating the winners
FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta attended the Kings League final and joined Piqué in giving out awards and congratulating the winners. The image was interesting. Many speculate that Piqué is mounting a campaign to become the president of FC Barcelona in the future.
Turning soccer on its head, selling out Camp Nou, and attracting a legion of new, young fans is certainly a good start.
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