Barcelona President Joan Laporta appeared in court last Friday as part of the latest progress in Negreira’s case. He was one of three witnesses called to the stand, along with former Barcelona managers Ernesto Valverde and Luis Enrique.
Laporta defended Barcelona’s innocence in court, as they were accused of corruption for paying 7-8m euros to former CTA Vice President Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. The club ensures that those payments are made for the analysis and consultation of working in Spain.
12 questions Real Madrid asked Barcelona’s Joan Laporta
The current President of Barcelona was called as a witness unlike his successors Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, who stand as defendants, due to the statute of limitations. He was in charge of Barcelona for five years while the payments to Negreira continued. Real Madrid is one of the plaintiffs in the case, and Cadena SER revealed the questions Laporta was asked by their lawyers in the courtroom, and Marca his answers.
1. The first paragraph is not clear to me. “Were you informed that these payments were being paid to companies connected to Mr. Enriquez Negreira?”
“I was informed that there are fees for technical analysis related to refereeing and evaluation. And these services were useful.”
2. “Did you know this, did you know about it, or was it explained to you?”
“I will say it again, I will not go into detail, the president does not go into details about these issues, then we set a guide, we are told that we must go one way, we do not go into the details of whether the company was paid.
3. “My direct question is, who decides this type of increase [in payment]?”
“Well… I understand that the sports department recommends that these payments continue. Who decides? It was about continuing to collect some data. I don’t know the details. Given the amount involved, the management team had the authority to continue these payments. Payments below €1m don’t even reach the board of directors these days.”
4. “Was this information known to the board of directors?”
“I have been informed, but these are details that cannot be discussed at the board meeting because of the money involved.”
5. “How did FC Barcelona not know that it was making payments to companies connected to the vice president of the CTA?”
“Ask them. The information you are talking about is in the written invoices from the accounting records in Barcelona. The auditors found nothing wrong.”
6. “How many verbal agreements, for prices in the range of €500k, does FC Barcelona have or do?”
“Things have changed. At that time, I think verbal contracts were there, I wouldn’t say they were common, but they could happen. I don’t know if this particular contract was there or not, because I didn’t see it. I’m talking about a contract for technical advice. But I can tell you that everything is solid now. My obsession with this president is compliance. This has now changed a lot.”
7 and 8. “I will ask you directly about the two invoices during your time in the office.”
“Your talking to me about an invoice from 20 years ago, and you will allow me to forget you.
9. “During the 2008-2009 season, Mr. Javier Enriquez was coaching Fenerbahçe. Could he have prepared reports while working as an assistant coach for Fenerbahçe?”
“I don’t know. Ask Mr. Enriquez.”
10. “I am asking about Mr. Carles Naval, Mr. Carles Naval is the messenger, isn’t he the one who received or was in charge of the 647 reports that appeared?
“I know they turned around in the back of the cabin, I don’t know if it was Carlos or someone from the sports department who found them, luckily, so there’s no doubt about it.”
11. “Have you come to the conclusion that this contract was not issued directly, but rather a foreign company, through its companies, received or withheld the sum of E1m?”
“Unfortunately, but I will not answer that. I was not the president. But I think the law enforcement did a good job. At that time, they investigated the invoices and the services provided.”
12. “Has FC Barcelona analyzed whether Mr. Contreras [deceased Barcelona Director] companies really provide services? And if they don’t, what claims have they made about those companies?”
“I think we will reach conclusions throughout this process, and depending on those conclusions, the club will defend its interests. I was not the president at the time, so I will not give you specific details.”
Laporta’s defense of Barcelona
Towards the end of his testimony, Laporta also defended Barcelona’s success during the period in which the payments were made.
“FC Barcelona has never taken any action with the intention or purpose of changing the competition to get a profit from the sport. And I choose not to comment on it now, but it is clear that this is a planned campaign to try to destroy the reputation of Barca and to try to tarnish a glorious period in our history, which, fortunately, they will not succeed in doing, when Barca conquered the whole world. You have won it.”
Real Madrid is dealing with Negreira’s case
On Monday, Real Madrid President Florentino Perez used his Christmas speech to go after Barcelona in the case, and piled the pressure on the current officials, after Los Blancos were aggrieved by a penalty decision in their 2-1 win over Alaves. He called it ‘the biggest scandal in the history of football’, a further sign of the deteriorating relationship between him and Laporta.
