Rosell Drops Negreira Bombshell: 'Met Him During Laporta's First Reign'
Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell contradicts Laporta's claims about the controversial ex-referee chief in new testimony about the Negreira case.
Rosell Drops Negreira Bombshell: ‘Met Him During Laporta’s First Reign’
Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has thrown a spanner in the works of Joan Laporta’s Negreira case defense, revealing he first met the controversial ex-referee chief back in 2003 during Laporta’s initial presidency.
The Contradiction
Rosell’s testimony as part of the ongoing investigation directly contradicts Laporta’s recent claims that he never met José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees at the center of Barcelona’s payments scandal.
In statements revealed by journalist Ramón Álvarez de Mon, Rosell explained: “I met Mr. Negreira back in 2003 when we joined Mr. Laporta’s first board.”
Timeline Revelations
Rosell, who served as Barcelona president from 2010 to 2014 after previously being on Laporta’s board between 2003 and 2005, provided a clear chronology of his interactions with Negreira:
- First introduced to Negreira in 2003 as “the person who historically provided referee advisory services to the club”
- Occasionally saw him at the stadium between 2003-2005 “doing his reports and advising the club on refereeing matters”
- Lost contact after resigning from the board in 2005
- Reconnected in 2010 upon becoming president himself
Institutional Context
Rosell was careful to frame Negreira’s role as an established institutional arrangement rather than a personal relationship. He described inheriting “this contract and about 100 more contracts” when he took office in 2010, positioning the controversial payments as part of administrative continuity rather than his own initiative.
Interestingly, Rosell noted that Negreira often preferred to work remotely: “I believe he frequently didn’t come because, obviously, if you’re providing referee assessments, it’s better to do it via television where you can see replays and be more precise.”
The Bigger Picture
This testimony adds another crucial piece to the puzzle in the ongoing Negreira case. While Rosell acknowledges knowing about and maintaining the relationship with Negreira, he presents it as an inherited technical arrangement rather than commenting on its propriety or purpose.
For Barça fans, it’s another day of headlines they’d rather avoid. The case continues to cast a shadow over the club’s reputation, and with contradicting testimonies from former presidents, the truth seems as slippery as a rainy night in Stoke.