Barcelona president Joan Laporta has intensified the institutional rivalry with Real Madrid, declaring that relations between the two Spanish giants no longer exist and have deteriorated into open confrontation.
In comments reported from an interview with French sports newspaper L’Équipe, Laporta delivered a sharp assessment of the relationship, accusing Madrid of attempting to divert attention from wider issues surrounding Spanish football.
“No, relations no longer exist. I would even say it’s a confrontation now. They are trying to divert attention,” Laporta said.
He also questioned Real Madrid’s standing within football, claiming the club had lost credibility both institutionally and on the pitch.
The comments represent another escalation in a dispute that has increasingly extended beyond the rivalry between the teams to include governance, refereeing and the ongoing Negreira investigation.
Laporta Questions Real Madrid’s Credibility
Laporta did not limit his criticism to the breakdown in communication between the clubs.
The Barcelona president argued that Real Madrid had lost influence within football institutions and suggested the club had taken the wrong direction.
He also criticised Madrid’s transfer strategy, questioning whether the money spent on expensive players had produced the expected results.
According to Laporta, Madrid had “opened their chequebooks to spend huge amounts of money on very expensive players who are not delivering the expected results.”
The remarks add a sporting dimension to the institutional dispute, with Laporta challenging both Madrid’s leadership and the effectiveness of its recruitment.
However, his comments represent Barcelona’s president’s assessment of their rivals rather than an agreed position between the two clubs.
The Negreira Case at the Centre of the Dispute
The ongoing Negreira case remains a major source of tension between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The investigation concerns payments Barcelona made to José María Enríquez Negreira, a former vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee.
Barcelona has maintained that the payments were for technical reports and denies wrongdoing. Real Madrid has participated in the proceedings and publicly described the matter as a major scandal in Spanish football.
Laporta has repeatedly criticised Madrid’s involvement in the case, arguing that the club has used the investigation to damage Barcelona’s reputation.
He has also maintained that Barcelona will be cleared of wrongdoing.
The dispute has become one of the most prominent institutional conflicts in Spanish football, with both clubs taking sharply different positions on the significance of the investigation.
Tensions Have Intensified Throughout 2026
Laporta’s latest remarks follow a series of public criticisms of Real Madrid earlier this year.
Ahead of the Spanish Super Cup final in January, the Barcelona president addressed the strained relationship between the clubs. He also made further comments during events in Sitges in mid-October, describing relations as broken or nonexistent.
On those occasions, Laporta accused Madrid of prolonging the Negreira investigation to harm Barcelona’s image and criticised the club’s absence from certain meetings involving European football organisations.
More recently, ahead of Barcelona’s match against Real Betis, Laporta backed LaLiga president Javier Tebas and accused Madrid of wanting to “destroy everything,” including LaLiga and the referees’ technical committee.
The repeated statements illustrate how the rivalry has increasingly moved into public disputes over the governance and reputation of Spanish football.
From Super League Partners to Institutional Rivals
Barcelona and Real Madrid have historically been fierce competitors on the pitch, but their institutional relationship has changed over time.
The clubs were aligned for a period through the European Super League project before their positions diverged.
Disagreements over football governance, refereeing and the Negreira investigation have since contributed to further tensions.
Laporta’s latest comments suggest that any prospect of restoring a working relationship remains difficult, at least from his perspective.
Real Madrid had not issued an immediate response to the latest remarks in the supplied report.
El Clásico Adds to the Tension
The institutional dispute comes as attention turns towards the clubs’ next La Liga meeting later this month.
El Clásico is already one of world football’s most closely watched fixtures, but the latest exchange adds another storyline to the contest.
Beyond the result, the match will take place against a backdrop of accusations and disagreements that have increasingly shaped relations between the clubs away from the pitch.
For Barcelona, Laporta’s comments reinforce the club’s opposition to Madrid’s stance on the Negreira investigation. For Real Madrid, the dispute remains part of a wider rivalry involving sporting success, institutional influence and the direction of Spanish football.
The latest statements underline the depth of the divide, although they do not constitute a joint position or establish that future cooperation between the clubs is impossible.
