Joan Laporta said there is no longer any relationship between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, escalating a rivalry that has been running hot for days before the first clásico of the season. In a recent interview with L'Equipe, he described the state of affairs as open confrontation and tied it to the dispute around the caso Negreira.
The timing matters because the comments land with Barcelona already heading into a packed stretch of fixtures, including a UEFA Champions League match against PSG on Tuesday 20 October and a LaLiga match on Sunday 25. Laporta's words do more than revive old grudges; they put the rivalry back at the center of the week just as the schedule tightens around it.
Laporta went further and accused Real Madrid of using the case to divert attention from its poor sporting results. He said Barcelona has won more in recent years while Real Madrid has gone two seasons without trophies, and that gap, in his view, is part of why the attacks have intensified. That is the core of his complaint: not only that the clubs are farther apart, but that the pressure from Madrid is, as he sees it, a reaction to what has happened on the pitch.
The case at the center of the row is the judicial and fiscal investigation linking FC Barcelona to million-euro payments to companies of José María Enriquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018. Laporta's comments place that investigation back in the middle of a rivalry that rarely needs much to flare, and they do so at a moment when every public word from either side is read as part of the build-up to the next clásico.
He also used the interview to praise Lamine Yamal, saying the future cannot be conceived without him and that he is not worried about his possible departure. Laporta said the 19-year-old is one of the main candidates for the Balón de Oro 2026, a reminder that even as the president sharpens his tone toward Real Madrid, he is also trying to project calm around one of Barcelona's most valuable young players. The next test will not wait long, and the way those words sit next to the coming fixtures may end up mattering as much as the feud itself.
