Joan Laporta appear before the media today to explain his version of the Negreira case. The president had only spoken a couple of times on this matter. I know now. With all the data in hand after the investigation that he ordered to give his version. There are many questions on the table and it is possible that Laporta does not have an answer to any of them. These are the key points:
Laporta: “We paid invoices based on services provided and documented, nothing on companies…”
1. Have you bought referees?
It is the great suspicion that exists in the football world. However, in the summary of the process, no evidence has been provided about this alleged purchase.
2. Where are the arbitration reports?
The Prosecutor’s Office requested these documents in its investigation, but from the club they said they could not find them. On the other hand, the reports of her son did appear and are included in the summary of the process.
3. Why did it quintuple its value?
According to the summary, in Laporta’s first year as president he paid 67,625 euros for these reports (to a company owned by Enríquez Negreira’s son) in 2004. In his last year as president, the club disbursed 364,954 for them, although this time already to a company of the father.
4. Why are there no reports of Negreira?
He said it himself. The former vice president of the CTA did not report to Barcelona, he was all verbal.
5. What did Gaspart tell you to keep you going?
Payments begin in 2001 under the presidency of Joan Gaspart. When he leaves the club, he leaves them active because, although they go from paying Enrquez Negreira to his son, they continue to be active.
6. Why did Contreras act as an intermediary?
Barcelona paid a company owned by Josep Contreras, a former manager of the Catalan Federation and also of Barcelona, which at the same time billed Javier Enrquez, Negreira’s son, for the arbitration reports. But Contreras kept half the money.
7. Where has the cash gone?
Enríquez Negreira took out a lot of money in cash and checks. The judge is investigating where he ended up. And also what was done with the money that Contreras kept instead of paying all of it to Javier Enrquez.
8. Why were these payments hidden?
For 18 years, Barcelona paid for these arbitration reports. However, no one knew anything about the matter. Only the presidents and some high-level executives. The rest found out when the news came out in the press.
9. Why were they as Institutional Expenses?
According to the newspaper El Mundo, the payment to the company Dasnil de Enríquez Negreira was registered in the balance sheet as Institutional Expenses instead of sports expenses. In fact, the game was next to a gift watch.
10. Why did they pay 7.5 million for something that wasn’t worth it?
It is clear that the arbitration reports are not worth the amounts that Barcelona paid for them. In one season he came to pay almost 900,000 euros. They were totally off the market. In fact, these types of reports are currently made by two people who are on a fixed salary at the club.