{"id":208838,"date":"2026-03-10T09:12:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T09:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/joan-laporta-the-negreira-case-im-sure-madrid-was-involved-too\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T09:12:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T09:12:03","slug":"joan-laporta-the-negreira-case-im-sure-madrid-was-involved-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/joan-laporta-the-negreira-case-im-sure-madrid-was-involved-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Joan Laporta: “The Negreira Case? I’m Sure Madrid Was Involved Too”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Xavi Hernandez\u2019s Accusations<\/h2>\n

The recent appearance of Xavi Hernandez<\/strong> in the FC Barcelona presidential campaign has sparked significant debate. Just a week before elections scheduled for Sunday, Xavi accused Joan Laporta<\/strong> of hindering Leo Messi’s potential return to the club in 2023 during an interview with The Vanguard<\/i>. As the leading candidate against opponent Victor Font<\/strong>, Laporta took to the airwaves on The Great Game<\/i> program of the COPE network to defend his management and address criticisms, particularly from Xavi, who seemed dissatisfied with his tenure at the club.<\/p>\n

Defending His Tenure<\/h2>\n

Laporta reiterated his focus on lifting Barcelona from a period of decline. “We found a very deteriorated stadium and a team that was not winning,” he stated. He emphasized the club’s transformation, declaring, “Now we have a new stadium and a team that wins.” He also suggested that Xavi had been misused as a pawn in Font’s campaign, remarking, “His dynamic was a loser and Flick’s was a winner.” This underscores Laporta’s stance that he has revitalized the club amidst challenging circumstances.<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s Departure and Xavi\u2019s Role<\/h2>\n

In response to Xavi’s comments about Messi, Laporta clarified that Messi’s decision to leave for Miami was made by his family and did not contribute meaningfully to the electoral debate. He expressed disappointment at Xavi’s public dissent, stating, “I have always gone toe to toe with Xavi and I have fallen in love with him.” This suggests a deep-seated respect that contrasts with the tensions evident in their recent interactions.<\/p>\n

Financial Reforms<\/h2>\n

Positive Economic Management<\/h3>\n

Beyond player dynamics, Laporta took pride in his financial stewardship of the club. “We have reduced the debt by 200 million,” he claimed, highlighting a shift in economic health as salary costs fell to 54% of club income. He attributed this success to solid management and the renewal of young talent, presenting a positive report card on his leadership.<\/p>\n

Concerns Over Stability<\/h3>\n

With regards to potential changes should Font win the presidency, Laporta noted Flick’s contentment at Barcelona, arguing that Font posed a significant threat to club stability. “He has no sporting project,” Laporta stated, reflecting his concerns about Font’s competence in maintaining the club’s competitive edge.<\/p>\n

Laporta\u2019s Counter to the Negreira Case<\/h2>\n

One of the most charged issues in the current election cycle is the Negreira case<\/i>, a scandal probing potential irregularities involving Barcelona and referee payments. Laporta framed the investigation as a smear campaign against the club, insinuating that Madrid might share culpability. He boldly stated, “What Barcelona did is absolutely legal,” and expressed confidence that similar actions had been taken by other clubs, including Madrid. This defensiveness highlights Laporta’s contentious relationship with the perception of institutional bias against Barcelona, especially concerning refereeing in Spanish football.<\/p>\n

Refereeing Performances<\/h2>\n

Laporta\u2019s commentary on referee performance this season further reveals his discontent. “Unfortunately, they are not very wrong in favor of Barcelona,” he noted, voicing concerns that officiating has been inconsistent and could favor direct rivals at times. This ongoing narrative adds another layer to the contentious climate surrounding Barcelona as they navigate internal challenges and external scrutiny.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Updated Tuesday, March 10, 2026 – 09:50 Xavi Hernandez\u2019s Accusations The recent appearance of Xavi Hernandez in the FC Barcelona presidential campaign has sparked significant debate. Just a week before elections scheduled for Sunday, Xavi accused Joan Laporta of hindering Leo Messi’s potential return to the club in 2023 during an interview with The Vanguard. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35105],"tags":[697,37236,47483,49837,2413,24935,37234,24936,37558,7494,42354,46404,37245,43533],"class_list":["post-208838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","tag-case","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-hansi-flick","tag-inter-miami","tag-involved","tag-joan","tag-joan-laporta","tag-laporta","tag-leo-messi","tag-madrid","tag-negreira","tag-negreira-case","tag-real-madrid","tag-sports-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208838\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}