<
>

Barcelona's Gerard Pique 'knew licence was invalid' - Spain driving agency

Spain's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DGT) has confirmed that Gerard Pique was aware that his driving licence was invalid when he was pulled over last week.

Barcelona defender Pique was stopped by local police on Friday and a routine check revealed that he was driving without any points on his licence -- drivers in Spain start with 12 points and points are then deducted for any traffic offences.

Amid doubts over whether or not Pique knew he was driving with an invalid licence, a Catalan court asked the DGT if and how they communicated to him that he had no points remaining.

"Without going into too much detail, I will say that Pique was personally notified of the loss of points," Pere Navarro, the director general of the DGT, said on Tuesday. "I'm surprised he doesn't travel with a chauffeur."

Pique now faces a fine of up to €288,000, community service or a prison sentence of up to six months for breaching Spain's driving laws.

In the meantime, the centre-back has found an innovative way to get to training.

As his teammates turned up in their club-sponsored cars on Monday, he was captured arriving at Barca's Sant Joan Despi base on an electric bike.

Diario AS report that the bike is worth around €10,000 and that its top speed is 90kmph, although the ones which are available to buy are restricted to 45kmph.

Pique is not the only Barca player to take advantage of the good climate in the city to make use of other modes of transport -- even if he was left with no other choice.

Earlier this year, goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was spotted whizzing around on an electric scooter after swapping his home in Castelldefels for city centre living.