Rabat – Florentino Pérez’s appetite for the Negreira case shows no signs of fading.
According to AS, Real Madrid have escalated their legal offensive in the Negreira case by formally asking the investigating judge to grant access to Barcelona’s complete financial documentation covering the period between 2010 and 2018.
Real Madrid is also asking for the annual budgets drawn up during that eight-year window, specifically the entries covering payments made to companies linked to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee.
This isn’t Real Madrid’s first attempt to get hold of Barcelona’s books.
Back in January, judge Alejandra Gil Lima rejected an earlier request from the Madrid club to access broader financial audits and records spanning 2010 to 2021, ruling that the existing invoices already documented the payments in question and that opening up Barcelona’s general accounting wasn’t necessary to the investigation.
She did, however, allow Carles Naval, Barcelona’s first-team delegate, to testify, given his role in approving the payments during the years under scrutiny.
The renewed push suggests Real Madrid isn’t backing down.
Sources close to the case describe an atmosphere of open hostility between the two clubs, with Madrid reportedly determined to pursue the matter both through the courts and through UEFA.
Madrid has already asked UEFA to consider stripping Barcelona of titles won during the years the Negreira payments were made.
Barcelona’s stance hasn’t shifted throughout the case
The case centers on whether Barcelona’s payments to Negreira, made through a web of companies, were intended to influence refereeing decisions in the club’s favor.
The investigation remains open, and Real Madrid’s latest request could extend it further if the judge grants it.
From the moment the Negreira story broke, Barcelona has denied any wrongdoing on the sporting side, insisting the payments to companies tied to the former Technical Committee of Referees official were for consultancy work and refereeing reports, not to sway match officials.
New details keep emerging on a near-monthly basis, but inside the club, attention has moved elsewhere.
With pre-season underway under Hansi Flick, the first team is already back in training, and the sporting side of things has taken priority as Barcelona gear up for another long campaign.
