Five months after their last face-to-face conversation, the LaLiga headquarters became the scene of the long-awaited reunion between Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, and Joan Laporta, his counterpart at FC Barcelona. They had not spoken since last November. Throughout this period both presidents have made their differences clear in public and in private. Separately. Despite these deep differences, the two leaders greeted each other yesterday with a handshake and a contained cordiality. They even had a couple of minutes to exchange views when the assembly ended. It was Tebas who sought out the Blaugrana president to thank him for his presence. Also to reproach him that he should have spoken to the clubs before.
Witnesses of their reunion were the 42 representatives of the First and Second Division clubs (mostly presidents), who attended an extraordinary assembly to listen to Laporta's explanations about the Negreira case. “He has conceptually defended his position as a club. He did not convince us, but it was not the day to corner him either. We have reproached him among all that Barcelona contracted these services but without making blood”, one of the presidents who attended the meeting pointed out to this newspaper.
Absent in the last two LaLiga meetings, this time Laporta did not delegate his presence to any Super League lawyer that he shared with Real Madrid. The white club was one of the few that was not represented by its president. Florentino Pérez delegated to his second, José Ángel Sánchez. Although both greeted each other, Mao Ye Wu, Espanyol's adviser, sat between them. José Ángel Sánchez was one of the few representatives who did not speak in an assembly that began at 11:00 in the morning and lasted until 2:45 p.m. “He has not spoken; He hasn't had time," Tebas said, half jokingly half seriously, after the meeting. “Real Madrid has already ruled, it has appeared in the case as a private accusation. His position is clear, ”he justified.
Accompanied by the head of the club's legal services, Pere Lluís Mellado, Laporta defended the same arguments during his 20 minutes as at Monday's press conference. He drew up the report commissioned from an external law firm commissioned by the club's Compliance area and made its conclusions clear: Barcelona did not buy any referee, so there is no crime of sports corruption, the contracting of the services of the former vice-president of the Arbitrators Committee, whose cost amounted to more than 7 million euros, is documented with 629 arbitration reports, 43 CD's and four different reports corresponding to the period 2014-2018 and added that all payments have their corresponding invoices. He also alleged that the advice of Negreira's son, Javier Enríquez Romero, in terms of scouting and arbitration reports are common in the professional sports sector. And he pointed out that out of respect for the administration of justice, all the clarifications and doubts that LaLiga or the clubs may have will be duly answered in court, where LaLiga is already in person.
The Blaugrana president seemed particularly comfortable talking with Sevilla's chief executive, José Castro, one of the clubs that has most criticized payments to Negreira. Castro, who attended with the vice president of Seville, José María Del Nido Carrasco, was one of those who participated the most by speaking. Also Miguel Ángel Marín, CEO of Atlético de Madrid, or Amaia Gorostiza, president of Eibar. "Because of your performance, all the clubs have a discredit at the Spanish and European level," almost everyone reproached him. There were also those who held out their hand. “LaLiga and the clubs respect you, and it is your home, but it is a subject that stinks and we demand an answer; not LaLiga, all the clubs. It would be good if you apologized just for the noise that has been caused," the president of Cádiz, Manolo Vizcaíno, told Laporta. “Well, luckily it's my house. But I thank you for telling me," President Laporta replied with a laugh. Both leaders have a very good relationship.
"The issue of the Real Madrid video also came up," add the sources consulted about the closed-door meeting. Laporta assured that he "will not speak of third parties again." Thebes agreed. “The video does not contribute anything. Neither did what Laporta contributed about the clubs of the regime, ”he pointed out in the assembly and before the media.
Although financial fair play was not discussed during the more than two hours of the assembly, Tebas, already at a press conference, did point out that “I hope that FC Barcelona makes the necessary moves to accommodate Messi. I am a fan. But we are not going to change any regulation of economic control so that it returns, ”he warned. Both parties are willing to build bridges.
