On Monday, oil was again thrown on the fire: in a statement, Barça demanded the resignation of La Liga president Javier Tebas, following press reports that he had delivered to the prosecutor's office a letter wrongly implicating two former presidents of the club in the "Negreira" case.

A Barcelona court is still investigating a complaint about suspicious payments of money, to the tune of €7.3 million, made by the Catalan club to companies belonging to the former N.2 of Spanish arbitration, José Maria Enriquez Negreira.

On the same day, UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin, who is expected to be reappointed for a third term at the head of the European football body at the Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday in Lisbon, said in an interview with Slovenian media Ekipa that the scandal affecting Barça "is one of the most serious situations" he has "ever seen in football".

Ten days ago, on March 23, UEFA announced the opening of an investigation into a "possible violation of the legal framework" of the body by FC Barcelona, already charged since March 10 in Spain with some of its former leaders for "corruption", "breach of trust" and "forgery of commercial documents".

"We're not talking about Negreira"

It is in this tense context, in addition to all the media attention on a possible return of Lionel Messi to the club this summer, that Barça, shaken institutionally but solid on the field, approaches its last clasico of the season.

The Catalans have won the last three clasicos to date (3-1 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in January in Saudi Arabia, 1-0 in the semi-final first leg of the Copa in Madrid on March 2, and 2-1 at home on March 19 in La Liga), and do not seem visibly affected by these legal turmoil.

FC Barcelona's Spanish coach Xavi speaks to the press after a training session in Sant Joan Despi, April 4, 2023 © LLUIS GENE / AFP

"Non-sporting topics don't enter the locker room. We talk about what we need to correct, how to place ourselves... We're not talking about Negreira, Tebas, UEFA... We just want to prove that we can beat them again," Xavi told a news conference on Tuesday.

Barça, who come out of a resounding victory at the red lantern Elche on Saturday (4-0) having blown the frames, already dominated Real two weeks ago at Camp Nou in an exciting return match of La Liga, even as the "Negreira affair" exploded in Spain.

On Wednesday, Xavi will still not be able to count on Ousmane Dembélé and Pedri, but will also have to do without Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen, all injured.

Ancelotti with his back to the wall

At Real, the mood is one of optimism. Brilliant Sunday against Valladolid (6-0), the "White House" was able to count on Karim Benzema, author of a hat-trick in six minutes and thirty seconds, including a third acrobatic goal.

"For me, the clasico is and always will be the most important match. We are very close to the final, so we will do everything we can to play it. But that doesn't mean we're going to try to score like crazy. The idea is to play a complete game," Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference on Tuesday.

The Italian technician, who promised that Real would win a trophy this season, has his back to the wall: in case of elimination on Wednesday, he will have no choice but to retain the title in the Champions League to keep his word, given that the Merengues are twelve points behind the Catalans in La Liga.

© 2023 AFP