In response to comments made by Barcelona president Joan Laporta, Real Madrid have released a lengthy video highlighting the Catalan club’s ties to Francisco Franco. Real Madrid have reacted to Joan Laporta’s allegation that the Los Blancos were the “club of the regime.”

In an apparent retaliation to a comment made by the Blaugrana president during a news conference earlier on Monday, Real Madrid shared a four-minute video highlighting Barcelona’s links with former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. Through archive footage and text, the video, which aired on Real Madrid TV and was afterwards shared on social media, digs into Barcelona’s connections with Franco.

Real Madrid
Despite recent glimpses of a growing friendship between the two rivals, Real Madrid and Barcelona have renewed attacks on each other. Credits: Twitter

Barca’s Negreira scandal turns ugly after Laporta attacks ‘club of the regime’ Real Madrid

Earlier on Monday, Laporta held a press conference in which he denied any wrongdoing after his club was charged with corruption in the ‘Negreira Case’. Barcelona have been accused of corruption in relation to payments paid to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, then-vice-president of Spanish football’s referees committee.

However, Laporta went on to criticise Barcelona’s historic rivals Real Madrid, claiming that they had historically been preferred by officials since they were “the club of the regime,” referring to the period of Spanish history in which Franciso Franco ruled in a dictatorship from 1933 to 1975., aired on Real Madrid TV and later shared on social media, delves into Barcelona’s connections with Franco through archive footage and text. Laporta had said:

“I want to refer to the presence of a club, on its own, as a private accusation in the trial. A club that says it feels harmed. A club that has always been favoured by refereeing decisions. It has been considered the team of the regime. Because of their proximity to political and economic power.

“I think it is worth remembering that for seven decades, most of the presidents of the CTA have been ex-members, ex-players or ex-directors of Real Madrid. For 70 years, the people who appointed those who had to deliver justice on the pitch, they were ex-partners, ex-players or ex-directors of Real Madrid. In some cases, all this at the same time.”

On Monday evening, Real Madrid released a video on the club’s official channels in retaliation to the Barca president’s allegations, in which they ask, “Which team is the regime?” and document Barcelona’s own Franco connections. They claim that in 1965, Barcelona bestowed three medals on Franco and made him an honorary club member.

During the Franco administration, Barcelona won eight La Liga titles and nine Copas del Generalisimo (later, Copa del Rey), whereas Real Madrid went 15 years without winning a domestic league title. The video also emphasises that Franco’s general minister, Jose Solis Ruiz, opened Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium, and that the club was spared from bankruptcy three times during the rule.

Barcelona have denied any misconduct, and Enriquez Negreira has stated that he has never favoured the Camp Nou outfit in refereeing decisions. The two clubs’ relationship has deteriorated in recent weeks, when Real Madrid declared plans to testify against Barcelona in the club’s payment fraud inquiry. Laporta responded by cancelling the pre-Clasico lunch between the directors of both clubs. Barcelona are yet to comment on Real Madrid’s video.