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Barcelona confirmed their legal team is "carefully examining" the accusations Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez made during his attention-grabbing emergency press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Just two days after Los Blancos endured a flat 2–0 loss in the final El Clásico of the campaign, the Spaniard spoke for more than an hour in what could only be characterized as a bewildering outburst, adding yet another chapter to the club's calamitous end to the season.
Pérez announced fresh elections, lashed out at journalists and accused La Liga and Barcelona of corruption, all while remaining silent on José Mourinho's rumored comeback and the turmoil that played out both on and off the pitch at the world's biggest club this season.
It appeared as though all of Spain watched the erratic press conference, including Barcelona, who fired back with a prompt response.
Barcelona Release Ominous Legal Threat
The Catalans briefly paused their La Liga title celebrations to respond to Pérez's Negreira case allegations, which claim Barcelona bribed former vice president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) refereeing committee José María Enríquez Negreira.
"Regarding the press conference held by the Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, we inform that our legal department are carefully examining his declarations and accusations," Barcelona said in an official club statement.
"They are currently being analyzed and the steps to be taken are being assessed. When considered opportune, any positions and decisions that have been adopted will be notified."
The statement marks the latest flashpoint in the fierce rivalry between the two clubs, driven by their feuding presidents Joan Laporta and Pérez.
What Exactly Did Pérez Say?
Pérez raising the Negreira case is hardly surprising. It seems whenever things go south for Real Madrid, the president finds a way to remind the public that Barcelona are under investigation for allegedly paying a total of €8.4 million (£7.3 million, $9.7 million) between 2001 and 2018 to a company owned by Negreira in exchange for favorable refereeing decisions.
The Catalans deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that the payments were made for refereeing advice and reports. Their account directly contradicts the version Pérez put forward once again on Tuesday.
"Three years ago, we learned about a corruption case like the Negreira case," he said. "There is no precedent in the history of world football. It is the greatest scandal in history and a case that remains unresolved and is still ongoing. It's incomprehensible that we're still seeing referees from that era in a competition like the league.
"It lasted two decades of payments. They are the same referees, and we are preparing an important dossier that we will immediately present to UEFA to address and resolve the Negreira case for the good of world football."
Pérez returned to the subject later in his address when taking aim at La Liga referees. "There is also the systemic corruption of the Negreira case. That we have to listen to the Referees Committee saying these are things we should forget … How can we forget if we are compiling a 500-page dossier that I will send to UEFA as soon as the competition ends?
"I have spoken with them because there is no precedent in the history of world football. How can I forget the biggest corruption case in football history? I fight against everyone."