La Liga giant Real Madrid has decided to pursue the high-profile "Negreira case" to the end and formally requested relevant regulatory authorities to impose sanctions on FC Barcelona for its alleged violations.
As the investigation into the case enters a critical phase, Real Madrid has quietly adjusted its response strategy over the past few weeks. The core of this case centers on Barcelona's payment of a total of over 7 million euros to José María Enríquez Negreira, who served as Vice-Chairman of Spain's Technical Referee Committee at the time, between 2001 and 2018. Real Madrid's top management has taken a firm stance on this matter, clearly stating that it will not give up pursuing the potential sports-related liabilities involved.
In terms of specific actions, Real Madrid is advancing simultaneously along two paths: on the one hand, it is awaiting the final judgment of the judicial system on the case; on the other hand, it has already informed FIFA of all developments related to the case. If the judicial authorities ultimately confirm the facts of sports corruption, UEFA may also initiate an independent investigation process.
This case mainly targets the operations of Barcelona during the tenures of Bartomeu and Rosell, accusing the two of being the primary responsible parties for the series of incidents and their consequences. Against this backdrop, Real Madrid is seeking to clarify a key question through judicial proceedings: Why did the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) shorten the statute of limitations for corruption-related offenses to five years when it revised its code of ethics in 2021? This revision directly allowed Barcelona's payment to Negreira to escape sports-related accountability. According to the original regulations, once any form of corruption is proven, the relevant sanctions would not be subject to any statute of limitations.
