Real Madrid wage war on Barcelona! Los Blancos request Barca's financial records from 2010 to 2018 as Negreira case intensifies

In Los Blancos' annual Christmas toast earlier this month, club president Perez delivered a scathing indictment of the state of Spanish football to reignite their war over the 'Negreira Case'. In a furious address to the media, Perez accused the RFEF and La Liga of abandoning their duty to protect the integrity of the sport, insisting that the "systemic corruption" uncovered by the scandal has likely cost other clubs their top-flight status over the last two decades. 

The 'Negreira Case', which centres on payments totalling over €7 million made by Barcelona to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira - the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) - between 2001 and 2018, remains an open wound for the Real Madrid hierarchy. While the legal process drags on, Perez made it clear that his club has no intention of letting the matter fade into history, regardless of the pressure from officials to move on.

Perez had said. "Christmas is a time that invites us to reflect. This club has built its history and its legend. We are the club with the highest income in the world, according to Deloitte and the most valuable according to Forbes. This has allowed us to live one of our most successful periods in these 15 years, both in football and basketball. 

"But Christmas is also a time to reflect. And Madrid's biggest concern is the refereeing situation. As you well know, the extremely serious situation that occurred with the 'Negreira case' for almost two decades deserves justice."

He added, "It is completely incomprehensible that the institutions have left Madrid alone in this fight. How is it possible that the president of the referees asks us to forget it? How are we going to forget the biggest scandal in the history of football? How can the RFEF and La Liga behave like this? They have a duty to ensure integrity."

Barcelona chief Laporta then hit back at his Madrid counterpart with a scathing diagnosis, claiming the Spanish capital is suffering from a case of "acute Barcelonitis". 

Laporta said: "Before it was 'Barcelonitis', but now it is 'acute Barcelonitis'. I see that Barcelonitis is installed in the heart of Madrid fans." 

When pressed on why he believes Madrid have adopted such an aggressive stance recently, Laporta added: "Ask them. What I see is that they have acute Barcelonitis, and this suits us fine."

Laporta then stated: "I have to say that this dimension that we have reached also generates envy, and that these are managed very badly by those who, using bad arts, break all codes of conduct, ethical and moral, and not only sporting ones. I suppose you know who I am referring to: those who are the architects of permanent smear campaigns against our shield and our essences. And we are not going to allow this. They are the same ones who confuse power with unenlightened despotism; those who practice cynicism and excessive arrogance; those who have a piece of television from which they vomit lies and intoxicate constantly and permanently."

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According to AS, Madrid are in no mood to let this one go as they have requested access to a wide range of financial and internal documentation from Barcelona covering the period between 2010 and 2018. Per Xabier Estrada, the five things that have been demanded are: 

1. All internal audits carried out by FC Barcelona between 2010 and 2018 in which the payments made to Dasnil 95, S.L., Nilsad, S.C.P., Soccercam, S.L., Best Norton, S.L., Tresep 2014, S.L. and Radamanto, S.L. are identified, examined and validated, including details of who authored those reports and who received them within the club’s organisational structure. 
2. The annual financial statements prepared and approved by FC Barcelona during that same period, along with the corresponding independent external audit reports associated with those accounts. 
3. The minutes from meetings of the club’s Tax Governance Committee in which the payments to the aforementioned companies were reviewed from a fiscal and tax-compliance perspective. 
4. A formal request for Camps Legal Advisors, S.L.P., via the Judicial Police Unit of the Seventh Zone of the Guardia Civil, to submit all extrajudicial and judicial communications or claims sent to FC Barcelona on behalf of Dasnil 95, S.L. and or José María Enríquez Negreira, for inclusion in the case file. 
5. The taking of witness testimony from Carlos Naval Biosca.

On top of this, Madrid have also asked the courts to include a statement made by Barcelona president Laporta in 2009 when he said: "Real Madrid signing a former referee? I’m sure they know what they’re doing, but for us, we respect the refereeing institution and structure, they do their job well, we won’t be making any signing like that, and we don’t know that market anyway."

Amidst the off-field tensions between the two clubs, the Spanish teams are currently enjoying their Christmas holidays and will return to action on January 3 in La Liga, taking on Espanyol.