Barcelona

Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who held the role between 1994 and 2018, is also facing charges of corruption in a case brought by the Spanish public prosecutor's ...

A club statement read: “Given the seriousness of the accusations made by the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office against FC Barcelona and two of its presidents for well-founded suspicions of corruption and their relations with whoever was the vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees, José María Enríquez Negreira, the president has convened urgently to the Board of Directors tomorrow, Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 12:00 p.m., in order to decide on the actions that Real Madrid deems appropriate in relation to this matter.” However, given the “seriousness of accusations” against Barcelona and the confirmation of charges, Florentino Perez has called a meeting this weekend to discuss his club’s options going forward. “We must respect the times of justice and now we must wait for the conclusion of the investigations of the prosecutor’s office,” director of institutional relations, Emilio Butragueno said after the draw with Atletico Madrid.

LaLiga giants Barcelona have been charged with corruption after allegedly paying over €7.3m (£6.4m) between 2001 and 2018 to firms owned by Jose Maria ...

The investigation was triggered by a tax inspection. The official added that "the club will fully cooperate with the investigation in all means necessary" and "reiterates that they have never bought any referee nor have tried to influence any official's decisions". Prosecutors claim that under a secret agreement and "in exchange for money", Negreira favoured Barcelona "in the decisions taken by referees in the games played by the club, as well as in the results of the competitions".

Club legend Andres Iniesta could return to FC Barcelona as soon as January 2024 after receiving an offer from president Joan Laporta, reports claim.

After all, Iniesta is arguably its most famed product alongside Lionel Messi and Xavi. [El Nacional claims](https://www.elnacional.cat/ca/esports/iniesta-oferta-joan-laporta-tornar-barca_986385_102.html) that FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta, who wants to "recover all the legends of the institution", has offered "one of the most important" figures of recent club history a job. To this end,

FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has a 'mole' in his Camp Nou locker room who has leaked confidential information to the press, according to a report.

[told](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9214221/Ronald-Koeman-unearthed-dressing-room-mole-leaking-Barcelona-line-ups-start-reign.html) [Voetbal International](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9214221/Ronald-Koeman-unearthed-dressing-room-mole-leaking-Barcelona-line-ups-start-reign.html). This set Barca up for a tense 35 minutes on the backfoot with a mere 1-0 lead while down to 10 men thanks to Ronald Araujo's dismissal. [where he reportedly kicked a drinks refrigerator](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=d5683a06c1917627JmltdHM9MTY3ODQ5MjgwMCZpZ3VpZD0yYzhjNWMzYy02ZWU0LTZkZTYtMGExNS00Yzk2NmY0YzZjZmUmaW5zaWQ9NTQyOA&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=2c8c5c3c-6ee4-6de6-0a15-4c966f4c6cfe&psq=tom+sanderson+forbes+raphinha+tantrum&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9yYmVzLmNvbS9zaXRlcy90b21zYW5kZXJzb24vMjAyMy8wMi8yNi9tYW5jaGVzdGVyLXVuaXRlZC1zdWJzdGl0dXRpb24tdGFudHJ1bS1sZWFkcy10by1yYXBoaW5oYS1iZWluZy1kcm9wcGVkLWJ5LWZjLWJhcmNlbG9uYS1tYW5hZ2VyLXhhdmkv&ntb=1) once substituted following a goal and assist, Xavi defended his charge and has also downplayed his involvement in the Torres-Fati tug of war where he appeared to encourage Fati to shoot from 12 yards out. ["jealousy" has been aroused in Raphinha ](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=c0f63cda59d35851JmltdHM9MTY3ODQ5MjgwMCZpZ3VpZD0yYzhjNWMzYy02ZWU0LTZkZTYtMGExNS00Yzk2NmY0YzZjZmUmaW5zaWQ9NTE3MQ&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=2c8c5c3c-6ee4-6de6-0a15-4c966f4c6cfe&psq=tom+sanderson+forbes+jealousy+raphinha&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9yYmVzLmNvbS9zaXRlcy90b21zYW5kZXJzb24vMjAyMy8wMy8wNi9mYy1iYXJjZWxvbmEtc3Rhci1yYXBoaW5oYS1hbmQtdG9ycmVzLWluLWxvY2tlci1yb29tLXJpZnQtb3Zlci1zcGFuaWFyZHMtcHJlZmVyZW50aWFsLXRyZWF0bWVudHJlcG9ydHMv&ntb=1)over the coach's decision to hook him before 90 minutes and leave Torres, who had underperformed, to complete the Valencia match. [attempted to defuse the row](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=beeeac79a765afd2JmltdHM9MTY3ODQ5MjgwMCZpZ3VpZD0yYzhjNWMzYy02ZWU0LTZkZTYtMGExNS00Yzk2NmY0YzZjZmUmaW5zaWQ9NTE2Mg&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=2c8c5c3c-6ee4-6de6-0a15-4c966f4c6cfe&psq=tom+sanderson+forbes+xavi+penalty&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9yYmVzLmNvbS9zaXRlcy90b21zYW5kZXJzb24vMjAyMy8wMy8wNS94YXZpLWNyaXRpY2l6ZXMtZmMtYmFyY2Vsb25hLWZvci1ub3Qta2lsbGluZy1vZmYtZ2FtZXMtZXhwbGFpbnMtZmF0aS10b3JyZXMtcGVuYWx0eS1jbGFzaC1hZnRlci12YWxlbmNpYS13aW4v&ntb=1), but Raphinha has been accused of leaking confidential information in a Catalunya Radio interview on Thursday. [El Pais](https://elpais.com/deportes/2020-12-12/el-barca-se-descose.html) went one further and said that Koeman publicly outed Riqui Puig as the 'mole' and screamed at him "You're a leak!"

Spanish prosecutors have filed corruption charges against Barcelona and former club presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu for allegedly making ...

Barcelona were flagged for €1.4 million of payments during a tax inspection but after review by prosecutors, the additional fees paid and more extensive timeframe came into scope due to this being an ongoing investigation. "Additionally, the relationship with this external provider expanded to technical reports related to professional refereeing, with a view to complementing the information required by the first-team and academy coaching staff, a usual practice in professional football clubs." Barcelona claims that the payments were for an external consultant while denying any wrongdoing.

The Catalan giants are no longer as confident of securing the Manchester City star, according to reports.

The report claims that this indecision has led Barcelona to become adamant that they will complete the signing of the German midfielder. Bernardo and Gundogan are not the only players linked to the Camp Nou though, City's on-loan full-back Joao Cancelo is also rumoured to be on their radar. Elsewhere, [Sport](https://www.sport.es/en/) are claiming that the La Liga side are still very much interested in the Blues' captain Ilkay Gundogan. The 32-year-old has since built his way up to the main leadership group before this season he was voted City captain. Barcelona are currently experiencing financial issues and thus need to be careful about the expenditure they make in terms of transfer deals. [Gundogan's](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/ilkay-gundogan) contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign and there is no sign as of yet of a new deal being agreed.

Gundogan has played a crucial role in City's success in recent seasons, as the matchwinner in last season's final day Premier League title victory, but he is ...

but Barcelona will match that, and try to secure the veteran midfielder. [Bernardo Silva.](https://www.football-espana.net/tag/bernardo-silva) [Barcelona were linked with a move for Silva at the start of the 2022/23 campaign](https://www.football-espana.net/2023/03/05/manchester-city-barcelona-transfer-target), but they were unwilling to meet City’s €80m asking price. [Mundo Deportivo](https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20230311/1001961412/avanzan-guendogan-dificultad-firmar-bernardo-silva.html), an offer for Silva appears to be ‘impossible’, and Barcelona will revive their previous links with his clubmate [Ilkay Gundogan](https://www.football-espana.net/tag/ilkay-gundogan) as an alternative.

Arsenal vs Barcelona 2006 has began to trend after the Spanish giants were charged with corruption over payments to referees.

Therefore, if Barcelona are found to have made payments to officials involved in the 2006 Champions League final, it is certainly possible that they will have their name stripped from the trophy, and Arsenal named winners instead. AC Milan finished second that season, although given the fact they were found guilty of tampering with results as well, the Serie A title was awarded to Inter Milan – who finished third in the 2005/06 Serie A campaign. [Arsenal](/en-gb/football/arsenal-fc/) vs [Barcelona](/en-gb/football/fc-barcelona/) 2006 has began to trend after the Spanish giants were charged with corruption over payments to referees.

Real Madrid have announced that they will hold an urgent board meeting as they plan their response to the corruption charges affecting Barcelona.

[The Catalan club and former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu have been officially denounced by prosecutors as the investigation into the Negreira case became official](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/official-prosecutors-barcelona-corruption-referee-payments-saga/bltee870cb19ef91612). THE BIGGER PICTURE: This is the first time that Los Blancos have addressed the corruption allegations publicly, with Barca's Clasico rivals clearly irked by the 'Negreira case'. [Barcelona officially charged in referee payment scandal](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/official-prosecutors-barcelona-corruption-referee-payments-saga/bltee870cb19ef91612)

And now Barca, former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and Negreira have all been hit with official corruption charges. Last week Tebas said ...

Barca have never bought referees and Barca have never had the intention of buying referees — absolutely never." [Barcelona](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1232720/barcelona/) are said to have made the payments between 2001 and 2018, including the four-year spell they were coached by [Pep Guardiola](https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/pep-guardiola/) — although there are no suggestions the [Manchester City](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1196654/manchester-city/) boss was aware of the agreement. BARCELONA have been charged with corruption over claims the Catalans paid off the head of Spain’s refereeing committee for 17 YEARS.

Just before the Espanyol game, Real Madrid came up with an official statement regarding the Enriquez Negreira payoff scandal involving FC Barcelona.

“In light of the serious nature of accusations presented by the Barcelona Prosecution Service against F.C. Barcelona’s position on this matter was to not say anything until they knew what Real Madrid would communicate. But after the announcement, the club have appeared attentive to the matter and it will be interesting to see how things transpire in the coming weeks.