Barcelona Gets Major Update on Ongoing Negreira Case

• Barcelona have recently been linked with allegations of corruption
• The La Liga champions were being investigated for paying bribes to the referee committee
• New reports have since emerged regarding the investigation

Barcelona earlier in the year witnessed a stream of unwanted reports surrounding the club’s alleged relationship with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira from when he was Vice President of the Technical Committee of Referees.

The incident dubbed as El Caso Negreira, has lingered ever since, with the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office investigating the Catalan club in relation to allegations of sporting corruption.

Barcelona have maintained their innocence throughout the case, with Joan Laporta reiterating that the club only paid for refereeing reports from Negreira, rather than anything to do with buying referees.

Prosecutors’ verdict on Barcelona

The La Liga champions may well be on course to being vindicated with reports from El Partidazo de Cope suggesting that the Prosecutor’s Office has found no evidence of payments to referees.

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Instead, the main suspicion appears to revolve around money laundering, which former Barcelona Presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu allegedly could be involved in.

Joan Laporta, the club’s current President, may also be charged by the Civil Guard.

Furthermore, reports from The Athletics state that Barcelona were also informed that UEFA has finished its investigation into the scandal and came to a conclusion, recommending they should not be banned from the next edition of the Champions League.

The news will surely be welcomed by Barcelona, and they will hope to put the matter behind them as attention turns towards the new La Liga season.

Not playing in the Champions League next season would have been a disaster for the La Liga champions. The income generated by European competition represents an oxygen tank for the ailing club's finances.

Barcelona’s financial burden unchanged

Sports Brief in another report stated Barcelona’s debt remains the same as when Lionel Messi left in 2021, with the Spanish champions still €1.35 billion in the negative.

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Laporta returned to office as president of the Blaugrana in March 2021 and was charged with the task of restoring financial order at Camp Nou.

Little progress has been made since then, with the vice president of economics, Eduard Romeu, revealing to Cadena Cope that the club’s debts remain at €1.35bn, with that figure not taking into account the €1.5bn cost of the Espai Barca project that will be delivering major redevelopment of the club’s famous stadium.