According to a report by Barca Universal on Monday November 2, 2026, Real Madrid, according to La Liga president Javier Tebas, changed their position after Barcelona pulled out of the European Super League project, and now they're dragging out the Negreira investigation in an effort to hurt Barcelona.

A former vice-president of Spain's Referees' Technical Committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, is a party to the case involving payments made by Barcelona. Spanish courts are still looking into the case. Real Madrid has maintained their criticism of Barcelona despite the lack of evidence linking the two clubs to any form of sporting corruption.

Accusing Madrid of politicizing the matter, Tebas made his public accusations known. After Barcelona pulled out of the Super League initiative, he said, the club became more outspoken.

"They are trying to make the Negreira case go as far as they can," Tebas remarked. The Spanish club seemed to think Negreira was in the referees' locker room at every stadium where they played, he said.

The head of La Liga brought to Madrid's attention the fact that the league had already notified the prosecutors of the situation prior to the Spanish giants. He brought attention to the fact that Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, stayed on the Super League board for six months following the revelation of the allegations.

According to Tebas, Perez had defended Barcelona at that time due to their connection within the project. He did, however, imply that things changed after the Catalan club left.

He said it was unacceptable that Barcelona was still being attacked and that the club should only face consequences if there was evidence of wrongdoing. Madrid, according to Tebas, is trying to drag out the proceedings.

Some have drawn parallels between Barcelona's situation and the charges that Manchester City is facing in England, but the president of La Liga has denied them.

He reiterated that there is no connection between the two issues and that the Spanish legal system must resolve the situation involving Barcelona.