Negreira case: Barcelona’s payments, leadership silence, and the hunt for facts

Joan Laporta announced on Monday that clarifications about the Negreira case would be presented. Two months after the scandal emerged, SER Catalunya reported that Barça had paid at least 1.4 million euros to José María Enríquez Negreira, who was then Vice President of Technical Referees. In the following weeks, the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office detailed that the referee leader and his son connected to Barça gathered 7.5 million euros over 17 years, spanning from 2001 to 2018 and crossing the tenures of four presidents: Gaspart, Laporta, Rosell, and Bartomeu. The club stated it would pursue an external, independent, and rigorous review, with Laporta promising results that would answer at least five questions.

Who signed the first contract with Enríquez Negreira for Barça?

Early documents hint that the arbitration contract may have originated during Gaspart’s presidency in 2001, while other data suggest beginnings in the final years of Núñez’s term, which ran from 1978 to 2000. The club has not identified a single contributor and has not disclosed the author of any initial agreement. The true creator of the contract remains unknown. [Source: Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office]

Despite the ongoing investigation, the club has not provided new information a month after the scandal surfaced. There is no concrete confirmation about who first brokered the relationship with the arbitration body, and the exact person behind the initial agreement has not been made public.

How was José Contreras, the key man in the Negreira case?

Emilio Perez de Rosas

Why didn’t any Barça president sever the financial ties with the Vice President of Technical Referees? Gaspart claimed ignorance. Rosell, then vice president of sports (2003-05), told Cadena SER that continued payments were necessary to maintain respect. Laporta, upon learning of the payments (2010-2014), has not issued substantial public statements. Rosell remained quiet, while Bartomeu ensured the payments to Enríquez intensified after Laporta’s remarks and ultimately reduced the flow. The summary indicates spending began with Gaspart, grew under Laporta, rose under Rosell, and stayed elevated under Bartomeu.

There is no public explanation for why the contract remained active across multiple presidencies. The narrative in the summary shows a steady path of spending through the four administrations mentioned.

Bartomeu contends that Real Madrid can claim injury in Negreira case

What was Enríquez Negreira actually providing Barça? In its sole official statement, issued on February 15, Barça admitted hiring an external technical adviser who produced video reports on players in the Spanish league subcategories. The club noted that the provider’s role expanded to include technical reports on professional arbitration to support the first team and subsidiary coaching staff, a common practice in professional football clubs. The document did not name Negreira directly. External suppliers produced videos and reports, but the exact content and use of these documents remain unclear for the first team’s coaching staff, including whether figures like Valverde or Martino’s assistants reviewed them.

Barça has not identified Negreira or his son by name in these disclosures. The external providers delivered video content, player analyses, and referee reports, but the precise nature of the reports remains unspecified, and it is unclear how they fed into team decisions.

Koeman on Negreira case: ‘Barça lost its image’

Who knew about the payments to Enríquez Negreira and his son at Barça? Barça has not disclosed that information. It appears there was a small circle aware of the arrangement. The Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office subpoena shows trusted figures connected to the president, including the CEO and the director of professional sports, as being tied to the matter. Payments reportedly bypassed internal controls and were not reflected in economic reports or annual audits. The total cost of the 17-year relationship has yet to be revealed by the club.

Supreme Sports Council appeared in ‘Negreira case’

Who set the price, and why did it rise? The payments grew from the initial figure to reach 7.5 million euros over time. It remains unknown who accepted the first price and what factors led to increases under successive presidents. Barça has not disclosed total costs or season-by-season payment details for videos and reports produced by Dasnil 95, Nisdal, and the son Javier Enríquez (Soccercam SL).

Joan Laporta announced on Monday that clarifications about the Negreira case would be presented. Two months after the scandal emerged, SER Catalunya reported that Barça had paid at least 1.4 million euros to José María Enríquez Negreira, who was then Vice President of Technical Referees. In the following weeks, the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office detailed that the referee leader and his son connected to Barça gathered 7.5 million euros over 17 years, spanning from 2001 to 2018 and crossing the tenures of four presidents: Gaspart, Laporta, Rosell, and Bartomeu. The club stated it would pursue an external, independent, and rigorous review, with Laporta promising results that would answer at least five questions.

Who signed the first contract with Enríquez Negreira for Barça?

Early documents hint that the arbitration contract may have originated during Gaspart’s presidency in 2001, while other data suggest beginnings in the final years of Núñez’s term, which ran from 1978 to 2000. The club has not identified a single contributor and has not disclosed the author of any initial agreement. The true creator of the contract remains unknown. [Source: Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office]

Despite the ongoing investigation, the club has not provided new information a month after the scandal surfaced. There is no concrete confirmation about who first brokered the relationship with the arbitration body, and the exact person behind the initial agreement has not been made public.

How was José Contreras, the key man in the Negreira case?

Emilio Perez de Rosas

Why didn’t any Barça president sever the financial ties with the Vice President of Technical Referees? Gaspart claimed ignorance. Rosell, then vice president of sports (2003-05), told Cadena SER that continued payments were necessary to maintain respect. Laporta, upon learning of the payments (2010-2014), has not issued substantial public statements. Rosell remained quiet, while Bartomeu ensured the payments to Enríquez intensified after Laporta’s remarks and ultimately reduced the flow. The summary indicates spending began with Gaspart, grew under Laporta, rose under Rosell, and stayed elevated under Bartomeu.

There is no public explanation for why the contract remained active across multiple presidencies. The narrative in the summary shows a steady path of spending through the four administrations mentioned.

Bartomeu contends that Real Madrid can claim injury in Negreira case

What was Enríquez Negreira actually providing Barça? In its sole official statement, issued on February 15, Barça admitted hiring an external technical adviser who produced video reports on players in the Spanish league subcategories. The club noted that the provider’s role expanded to include technical reports on professional arbitration to support the first team and subsidiary coaching staff, a common practice in professional football clubs. The document did not name Negreira directly. External suppliers produced videos and reports, but the exact content and use of these documents remain unclear for the first team’s coaching staff, including whether figures like Valverde or Martino’s assistants reviewed them.

Barça has not identified Negreira or his son by name in these disclosures. The external providers delivered video content, player analyses, and referee reports, but the precise nature of the reports remains unspecified, and it is unclear how they fed into team decisions.

Koeman on Negreira case: ‘Barça lost its image’

Who knew about the payments to Enríquez Negreira and his son at Barça? Barça has not disclosed that information. It appears there was a small circle aware of the arrangement. The Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office subpoena shows trusted figures connected to the president, including the CEO and the director of professional sports, as being tied to the matter. Payments reportedly bypassed internal controls and were not reflected in economic reports or annual audits. The total cost of the 17-year relationship has yet to be revealed by the club.

Supreme Sports Council appeared in ‘Negreira case’

Who set the price, and why did it rise? The payments grew from the initial figure to reach 7.5 million euros over time. It remains unknown who accepted the first price and what factors led to increases under successive presidents. Barça has not disclosed total costs or season-by-season payment details for videos and reports produced by some former referee companies and by the son Javier Enríquez (Soccercam SL).