‘We’re not stupid’ – presenter Manu Carreno tears down Barcelona and Joan Laporta over latest scandal

Barcelona’s latest scandal is being to referred to by some as the largest in the history of Spanish football. Depending on who you speak to. The two largest Madrid-based newspapers, Marca and Diario AS, dedicated their front pages to the ‘Caso Negreira’, while there wasn’t a hint of on those of Mundo Deportivo and Sport. Cadena SER presenter found himself siding with the former, unleashing a rant lasting nearly four minutes on the matter.

Buenos Días💶 pic.twitter.com/feTyGx95kh

— Football España (@footballespana_) February 16, 2023

It has been revealed as part of a tax investigation into Enriquez Negreira that Barcelona paid his firm Dasnil 95 €1.4m over three years while he was occupying his position as Vice-President of the Referees Committee. The fees were for scouting reports and consultancy on how to handle referees, although some believe this would be an extortionate amount for ‘just’ those services.

Carreno was exasperated and frustrated with Barcelona for their apparently obtuse behaviour.

“There are many questions that we ask ourselves today. I believe in the transparency of the referees, I mean it today, but I don’t think we are stupid either. (…) Someone has to tell us what the hell FC Barcelona was doing paying half a million euros to a company belonging to the vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees? To make reports or for videos? Yes, they are expensive but…”

✖️ “¿Ponemos en duda el sistema arbitral? No, yo no. ¿Somos tontos? Tampoco”

‼️ “Hace falta gente más profesional; el comunicado del Barça da risa”

“🤨 ¿Para qué pagaba el Barça ese dineral al que era vicepresidente del CTA?”

✍️ @manucarreno, sobre el ‘caso Negreira’ pic.twitter.com/QtjvQ91NmN

— El Larguero (@ellarguero) February 15, 2023

“He has made a grotesque and shameful statement. We have to shelve this way of running the clubs. More professional people are needed. The Barca statement makes people laugh and carries a certain sense of embarrassment. What does the president of Barca think…? He hasn’t denied a single line, not a single letter. Those cheap populisms are worthless.”

Laporta’s statement centred on the fact that Barcelona were doing well on the pitch, and this was in his eyes an attempt to destabilise Barcelona. It does show a remarkable lack of self-introspection on the matter, although he claimed that it was entirely normal.