By SABC Sport
29th June 2023
Laporta claims that the club's refusal to sign the CVC deal has led to a targeted campaign against Barcelona, with the aim of wresting control of the club away from its members.
Addressing the Negreira case, Laporta characterised it as an orchestrated effort to undermine Barcelona and ultimately compel them to sell the club into private ownership.
"The Negreira case is a campaign against Barca. You have to be self-critical, but it was something we inherited. Getting consultancy on refereeing is not a crime," Laporta told Onze, via Sport.
"Barca has never bought a referee, beyond the fact that perhaps we did not sufficiently value what it meant that the son of a former referee gave us advice.
"This has gotten out of hand, because there is an orchestrated campaign to end up with Barca, to transform Barca into a SAD [a private company]."
He attributed this campaign to Barcelona's decision not to participate in La Liga's CVC deal. The deal involved selling 10% of the league's TV rights for a period of 50 years in exchange for approximately ¬2billion.
Initially, the deal was estimated to be worth ¬2.6billion, taking into account the involvement of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Athletic Club.
Laporta's statements highlight his concerns about the consequences of Barcelona's stance on the CVC deal and the potential impact on the club's ownership structure.