Barça member who reported Laporta breaks silence: 'I'm not against anyone'
Isidro Navarro, the Barça member behind the money laundering complaint against Joan Laporta, has written an open letter defending his motives and clarifying his legal position.
A Barça member who filed a complaint against club president Joan Laporta at Spain’s Audiencia Nacional has broken his silence — and he’s making it crystal clear he’s not a puppet for anyone with an axe to grind.
Who is Isidro Navarro?
Isidro Navarro is the Barça socio who last week lodged a complaint against Laporta and several members of his board at the Audiencia Nacional, alleging money laundering and improper commission payments. It made a fair bit of noise, as you’d expect.
But almost immediately, the whispers started — was Real Madrid behind it? A rival presidential candidate trying to destabilise things at the Camp Nou? Navarro has now sent an open letter to Catalan radio station RAC 1 to address all of that head on.
What did he actually say?
A few key points from the letter:
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He’s no newcomer. Navarro says he was a Barça member for 24 years under membership number 65,302 — until the club quietly cancelled his membership in January 2025, apparently because he didn’t show up in person to register on a census. He says he was never told this was required, despite the club having his address, email and phone on file the whole time. He’s now re-registered with a new number (150,107), but insists he’s a 25-year supporter, not some fly-by-night agitator.
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He’s not acting on anyone’s behalf. He explicitly denies that Real Madrid or any presidential hopeful is pulling his strings. His motivation, he says, is simply to get to the truth and act in the best interests of FC Barcelona.
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He’s not technically filing charges. This is the bit that’s easy to miss. Navarro is keen to point out that in Spanish law, a denuncia isn’t the same as a formal accusation. It’s essentially bringing alleged facts to the attention of a judge or authority — the notitia criminis — and it’s then up to the courts to decide whether to investigate. The complaint is currently with the public prosecutor, who’ll advise on whether to admit it.
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You don’t need evidence to file one. As Navarro puts it, ‘no resulta obligatorio tener pruebas’ — you only need knowledge of the facts. He also notes that in extreme cases, not reporting can itself be considered a criminal offence.
The bigger picture
The complaint itself relates to allegations of money laundering and dodgy commissions — serious stuff if it ever gets off the ground legally. But right now, it’s in the very early stages. Nothing has been admitted to court yet.
What’s interesting here is Navarro’s framing. He’s clearly stung by how the story’s been reported — the idea that he’s some sort of hitman for Barça’s enemies. The letter reads like someone who genuinely loves his club and feels hard done by it, both personally (the membership saga is a bit grim, to be fair) and in how his actions have been characterised.
Whether the courts take this anywhere remains to be seen. But the bloke’s made his position plain enough.