Barcelona president Joan Laporta launched a strong rebuttal against Real Madrid and club president Florentino Perez, accusing them of repeatedly dragging the Blaugrana into the Negreira controversy in an attempt to shift attention and justify their own narratives.
Speaking at a book launch in Andorra, Laporta broke his silence on comments made at Real Madrid’s last general meeting, where Perez again raised Barcelona’s past payments to former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees José Mara Enriquez Negreira. Laporta suggested that Real Madrid’s continued focus on Barcelona revealed an unhealthy obsession rather than a genuine interest in football management.
“Now, remembering the statements made at the Real Madrid rally, which I didn’t have the chance to comment on until now, when I’m in Andorra, I’ll address them. I think they’re over the line; they’re exposing Madrid’s Barcelona-itis. They seem to have to talk about Barca to justify who knows what,” he said.
Laporta also rejected any suggestion that Barcelona were trying to influence officials and insisted the club had never bribed referees. He went further to point to recent incidents from Real Madrid matches as examples of decisions that he felt went Madrid’s way, and claimed that claims of bias against Barcelona were baseless and hypocritical.
“They are present at every step of the trial of the ‘Negreira Case’, which they drag on like chewing gum because they know there is nothing in it. Barca never bribed a referee,” Laporta continued, before adding his perspective on recent refereeing decisions involving Real Madrid.
In addition to the legal dispute, Laporta framed the situation as rooted in historical resistance. He claimed that Barcelona’s golden era between 2004 and 2015, when the club dominated Spanish and European football with an admired style of play, still weighs heavily on the minds of their fiercest rivals. According to Laporta, this period of supremacy has now been repackaged as a target for suspicion rather than being recognized for what it was – a remarkable sporting achievement.
“They have a persecution complex against the best period in Barca’s history. We were the team that played the best football, recognized, admired and respected for what we gave,” he said, adding that Barcelona’s success did not come from outside influence but from footballing excellence.
Laporta’s comments are a direct response to Florentino Perez’s remarks at Real Madrid’s General Assembly, where the Madrid president described Barcelona’s relationship with Negreira as “abnormal” and claimed referees were biased against Los Blancos. The speech, which was met with loud applause from the Madrid faithful, marked a sharp departure from Perez’s previous calls for unity and calm between two of Spanish football’s biggest institutions.
As Negreira’s case continues to wind its way through the Spanish legal system, Barcelona remain firm in their defense, saying the payments were made solely for consultancy and technical evaluation purposes. For Laporta, the problem is no longer just legal – it has become psychological and political, framed as the next chapter in Spanish football’s deepest rivalry.
On the domestic front, Real Madrid are currently at the top of the LaLiga table, but their lead over Barcelona is slim. The reigning champions are separated by just a single point from their arch-rivals, with the Blaugrana in second place, keeping the title race well set for the decisive stage of the season.
However, Barcelona’s power hit in Europe. The Catalan club suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League, a result that sparked fresh concerns about their form on the continental stage. The loss saw them drop to 18th in the Champions League stage table, adding further pressure on Laporta and his squad at a time when scrutiny is already intense around the club.
As legal, political and sporting battles play out simultaneously, tensions between Spain’s two biggest clubs continue to rise – both on and off the pitch.
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
November 28, 2025
