The Negreira reports appeared "by chance"

BarcelonaLuis Enrique Martínez, Ernesto Valverde, and Joan Laporta testified on Friday as witnesses in the Negreira case. Both former Barcelona coaches stated—via video call—that they were unaware of the existence of the reports from the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) and his son. They claimed that Valverde had received similar services while at Athletic Bilbao. Joan Laporta, however—who was acquitted in the case because the statute of limitations had expired for the acts committed during his first term (2003-2010)—admitted in court that they found these reports "by chance in some boxes at the back of a cupboard," as revealed by SER Catalunya. However, only some of the reports were found, because, according to the Barcelona president, part of the club's documentation is destroyed every five or six years.

Laporta, who left the City of Justice without making any public statement, also explained that when he took office in 2003 he was unaware of the existence of the reports—which were initiated by Josep Lluís Núñez and Joan Gaspart—and that when he learned of them, the sports committee explained that they were useful and worth maintaining. Furthermore, the payment for the reports—"a few hundred thousand euros annually"—did not require board approval, as it did not exceed the established minimum amount. Laporta added that he did not personally know either José María Enríquez Negreira or his son Javier, who allegedly prepared the referee reports. The Barcelona president denied that the club benefited from the referees, stating that the team they had at that time was "an example for the world."

Awaiting Barça's statement

The Negreira case was revealed on the SER program What's at stake? and is investigating the payment of more than seven million euros to José María Enríquez Negreira and his son between 2001 and 2018. Last September, former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu testified as part of an investigation. Both confirmed that the payments had been inherited from previous boards of directors – as Laporta did this morning. Bartomeu admitted upon leaving the City of Justice that the payments were for "sports advisory services and pre- and post-match referee reports for both Barça and Barça Atlètic." At the beginning of 2026, the current club spokesperson, Elena Fort, will testify on behalf of Barça as a legal entity, along with Joan Gaspart, former president of the club between 2000 and 2003.