Barcelona star Gerard Pique has been fined £42,500 (€48,000) for driving without a valid licence.

The former Manchester United defender learned his punishment after striking a deal with prosecutors at a court in Barcelona on Monday morning.

Public prosecutors had been seeking a £63,700 fine (€72,000) for Pique who declined to make any comment as he left court.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has been fined £42,500 for driving without a valid licence

The Barcelona defender had previously been banned from driving for other offences

His fate was announced in a three-page written sentence issued shortly after a 10-minute hearing.

Judge Francisco Javier Paluli confirmed in the document he was sentencing Pique to a road safety crime for driving with no points on his licence.

He said it had been proven the footballer was at the wheel of an Audi in Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona's famous shopping street, stopped by police on August 31 this year 'despite knowing he couldn't drive' because he had lost all the points on his licence following earlier traffic violations.

The judge said that on December 12, 2017 the footballer was notified through an official state bulletin he could no longer drive following failed attempts to alert him by post.

Wearing casual clothes as well as a bobble hat, Pique arrived with his lawyer David Velazquez

Pique makes his way past various media outlets following his court appearance on Monday

The sentence also stated on March 9 this year he was informed of his licence situation by city police.

He has been told to pay £176 (€200) a day towards his fine over an eight-month period, although a court official confirmed after the hearing he could cough up all the money at once if he prefers.

It was not clear on Monday how the 31-year-old, who has a net worth of just over £31million, would choose to pay.

Drivers in Spain start with 12 points on their licence that decrease with violations, unlike in the UK where you get points put on your licence for violations like speeding.

Before summonsing Pique to court, the judge confirmed with the Spanish equivalent of the DVLA that the footballer had been formally informed he had no points left on his licence.

Pique was denied a back-door exit from the court as he battles past photographers outside

He was told to leave through the front door 'just like any ordinary member of the public'

He will now have to do a driver's education course to get his licence back.

The court that fined him was Barcelona's Court of Investigation Number 27.

Local reports said Pique's lawyer David Velazquez asked security guards at the court to let his client leave the building by a back door to avoid waiting press, but was told that was impossible and he would have to leave via the front door 'just like any ordinary member of the public.'

In March 2015 Pique was fined £9,300 (€10,500) for insulting police officers in Barcelona over a parking dispute.

A judge fined him after hearing he insulted the officers and screwed up a parking ticket his brother had been given for illegally parking near Barcelona Casino.

Pique was in action as recently as Saturday night for Barcelona's 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid