In the wake of a public scandal, Barcelona Football Club remained silent until a statement from President Joan Laporta acknowledged an ongoing investigation by the Barcelona Attorney General’s Office into a 1.4 million euro payment. Reports from SER Catalunya pointed to a company owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who previously served as vice chair of the Committee of Technical Referees. The club confirmed that an external body was now handling the probe, signaling a shift toward transparency while the inquiry unfolds.
Barça has initiated an independent review aimed at uncovering every detail connected to this case. The scope traces across the tenure of the club’s last five presidents, Núñez, Gaspart, Laporta, Rosell, and Bartomeu, who have guided the club over the past three decades. After it was revealed that Laporta’s compensation had been increased, Bartomeu was noted for terminating the relationship with Negreira’s company. This sequence has cast a long shadow over the club’s administration and prompted fresh scrutiny from within and outside the organization.
Negreira’s role and the club’s stated neutrality
According to sources within Barça, Negreira’s engagement was intended to keep proceedings neutral and to provide an impartial basis for strategic decisions. The club has indicated that no penalties arose in the period described, a claim tied to the specific timeline of 715 days. The details have become the subject of extensive discussion as authorities examine the contractual ties that linked the club with Negreira and his associated enterprises.
Barça’s current external investigation is described as a thorough effort to guarantee maximum efficiency throughout the process. The review builds on a broader examination of the club’s governance and adherence to regulatory standards, as the organization seeks to clarify the nature of its commercial relationships in football operations. New data about the business arrangements with Enriquez Negreira and his son, who owns two distinct firms, are being reviewed to determine their impact on club affairs without altering the overall strategic direction.
The nature of the external inquiry and the club’s safeguards
Barça has stated that the investigation is being conducted by an external body to ensure objectivity and efficiency in handling the information. The official communications follow a period of quiet governance, with a public update issued after a broader broadcast program hosted by the club’s president. The first point of the club’s public response cited past arrangements in which an external advisor provided technical reports—originally in video format—related to Spanish subcategory players and the club’s technical staff.
The second point acknowledged an extended relationship with an external provider who delivered technical reports on professional arbitration to supplement the data used by the first team and the subsidiary coaching staff. This practice aligns with established procedures common in professional football clubs, where specialist insights supplement on-field preparation and strategy. The third point indicated that such outsourced services were performed by a professional assigned to the football operations department, while the fourth conceded that the information was disclosed at a moment that coincided with the season’s peak, which the club regrets.
As the investigation progresses, Barcelona continues to emphasize their commitment to transparency. An internal directive has been issued to protect and securely store all materials submitted to the club until the inquiry concludes. The organization maintains that certain information will remain under careful control, with the external review remaining the primary mechanism chosen to deliver a comprehensive, unimpeded assessment of the facts.
The club’s leadership asserts that the external review is intended to safeguard the integrity of the process and to ensure that findings are robust, verifiable, and usable for the club’s governance and regulatory obligations. While the path forward is being charted, the focus remains on maintaining stability within the football operations and on upholding the standards expected by supporters, players, and stakeholders alike. The outcome of the investigation is eagerly anticipated, with Barça underscoring its preference for clarity and accountability above all.