Real Madrid has requested that Barcelona be stripped of nine titles

Real Madrid has requested that Barcelona be stripped of the nine La Liga titles they won between 2001 and 2018, according to reports, after it was suggested that the Negreira case has been reopened by UEFA.

For those unaware, Barcelona are alleged to have paid €8.4 million (£7.3m) to companies owned by Jose María Enríquez Negreira, a former vice president of Spanish football's refereeing committee, between 2001 and 2018.

The Catalan club have consistently denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest, saying it paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions in games.

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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has previously called the case a 'gigantic reputational discrediting campaign' against Barcelona due to 'defamatory insinuations'.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, has repeatedly pushed for further investigation and potential sporting action.

At the end of last year, president Florentino Perez launched an attack on Spanish football authorities regarding the Negreira case, describing it as the 'biggest scandal in football history'.

He also criticised La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for leaving his club 'isolated' in their pursuit of justice.

It appears Los Blancos are continuing to push for action. A report from AS claims Madrid has requested that Barcelona be stripped of the titles won during the years in which the Catalan club allegedly paid Negreira.

The report has also published a statement from UEFA that confirms they have received a 'substantial amount of documents related to the ongoing investigation into FC Barcelona in the matter involving José María Enríquez Negreira'.

The statement added: "The UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors have also received these recent documents and will assess them as part of their ongoing review of the case."

Real Madrid issue club statement following Negreira case update

On Thursday afternoon, Real Madrid issued a strongly-worded statement to confirm UEFA's receipt of their complaint.

"The complaint filed by our club includes extensive documentation and evidence regarding events of extraordinary seriousness, which directly affect the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system," the statement said.

Madrid also urged that the investigation "proceed with the utmost urgency" and that the competent bodies "take the appropriate decisions in accordance with the severity of the verified facts."

The statement added: "Our club will continue to actively collaborate with UEFA and take all actions within its power to clarify events that it deems incompatible with the principles of integrity, transparency, and fair play that should govern European football."

Barcelona hit back at claims with statement of their own

A short time later, Barcelona responded to reports regarding the so-called "alleged" reactivation of the UEFA proceedings in the Negreira case.

A statement read: "UEFA has not opened any new proceedings against FC Barcelona. The proceedings were initiated in 2023, with the appointment of two investigators who have since carried out the action they deemed appropriate.

"The Club has always complied with all their requests. These proceedings have not been reopened because they have never been closed.

"The UEFA statement confirms receipt of documentation submitted by Real Madrid and indicates that the investigators will assess it within the framework of the existing investigation. The same text expressly refers, on two occasions, to an investigation and a review that are “ongoing.”

"It therefore does not announce the opening, reopening, or reactivation of any proceedings, nor does it contain any assessment of the substance or value of the documentation provided."

Pep Guardiola was in charge of Barcelona from 2008 to 2012. Image credit: Getty

The statement continued: "It is up to the investigators to determine what action, if any, they consider appropriate regarding this documentation. As of today, they have not made any new requests to FC Barcelona nor have they forwarded Real Madrid’s complaint to the Club. Should they do so, the Club will respond accordingly, as it has done up to now.

"In accordance with the applicable legislation governing this matter, these proceedings are subject to the outcome of the criminal case currently being heard in Spain and will continue to be so.

"Since the investigation began, FC Barcelona has continued to obtain its UEFA licence without objection and has participated in UEFA competitions.

"To facilitate the verification of the information, we reproduce below the full original text of UEFA’s statement:

"UEFA can confirm that it has received from Real Madrid CF a substantial amount of documents related to the ongoing investigation into FC Barcelona in the matter involving José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (the so-called “Negreira matter”).

"The UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors have also received these latest documents which they will assess as part of their ongoing review."

"FC Barcelona reiterates its full cooperation with the competent authorities and calls for rigour and accuracy in the reporting of this procedure."