Real Madrid’s attempt to obtain a wide set of internal FC Barcelona documents related to the ongoing “Negreira case” has been rejected by the investigating court.
Madrid had asked the court for access to
extensive financial and compliance material after entering the case as a private prosecutor. The broader investigation centers on the multimillion-euro payments made by Barcelona between 2001 and 2018 to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice president of Spain’s Referees’ Technical Committee (CTA). Those payments, according to investigators, are being examined under the lens of potential sports corruption.
Judge sides with Bartomeu objection
The decision was issued by Judge Alejandra Gil Lima, who ruled against Madrid’s request after one of the defendants in the case — former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu — formally opposed the disclosure. Bartomeu’s legal team argued that Real Madrid did not have the procedural standing to demand the information being requested.
The court ultimately agreed, closing the door on a significant portion of what Madrid had hoped to review.
What Real Madrid asked for
Among the documents Madrid requested were:
- “Due diligence” reports
- Forensic audits
- Broader reviews of Barcelona’s economic management from 2010 to 2021
Madrid also sought internal and external audit reports on Barcelona’s financial statements (2010–2018), and even budgets that allegedly contained provisions tied to the Negreira-related payments.
Court: the documents are not necessary
In the reasoning, Judge Gil Lima stated that these materials are not essential for the purpose of the investigation because the key issue — whether the payments occurred — is already established through existing evidence.
According to the court, there are sufficient indicators that the payments were made, including invoices and the fact that Barcelona itself has acknowledged the transactions. The dispute, the judge noted, is not about whether money changed hands, but about why — namely whether the payments were intended to influence sporting competition through preferential refereeing treatment.
From that perspective, the court believes large-scale financial documents covering Barcelona’s overall economic management would add little value to the case.
Too broad, too irrelevant
The judge also criticized the scope of Madrid’s request, pointing out that it was not narrowly limited to transactions connected to Negreira or his related companies. Instead, Madrid sought reports that would cover the club’s entire financial management for more than a decade — something the court described as unrelated to the specific investigation.
Because of that, the judge ruled there was no basis to compel Barcelona to provide those audits, budgets, or other broad financial records.
Barcelona internal investigation also protected
Real Madrid also asked for Barcelona’s internal investigation file into the Negreira matter. That request was also denied.
The court argued that a criminal investigation should not depend on an internal review carried out by the club for governance or oversight purposes. More importantly, the judge warned that forcing an investigated party to hand over its own internal investigative material could violate a fundamental legal principle: the right not to self-incriminate.
Tax committee minutes: irrelevant to the case
Finally, Madrid requested minutes from Barcelona’s Tax Governance Committee, which would presumably allow scrutiny of the payments from a tax compliance angle.
Judge Gil Lima rejected that request as well, stating that tax analysis is outside the purpose of the current criminal instruction.
What this means
This ruling limits how deeply Real Madrid can dig into Barcelona’s internal finances and governance structure as the Negreira case proceeds. Madrid remains involved as a private prosecutor, but the court is drawing a clear line: only documentation directly relevant to the alleged corruption investigation will be considered necessary.
In other words, the case will focus on the payments themselves — and their alleged intent — rather than allowing the investigation to expand into a broad forensic audit of Barcelona’s overall economic management.
