The atmosphere around the Negreira affair continues to thicken like harmattan haze over a Lagos morning, and the latest salvo has come from an unexpec...
The atmosphere around the Negreira affair continues to thicken like harmattan haze over a Lagos morning, and the latest salvo has come from an unexpected corner of the Barcelona dressing room. Young midfielder Fermin Lopez has responded sharply to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who earlier this week delivered a thunderous press conference in which he accused the Catalans of. �stealing seven La Liga titles. � during the period they made payments to former CTA vice. president Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. Perez, speaking with the weight of the Madrid hierarchy behind him, did not mince words, insisting that Barcelona. �s historical dominance was built on crooked foundations. But Lopez, speaking exclusively to GoalZaza, refused to let the allegations stand unchallenged.. �You can say that,. � the 21 year old said with a calm but firm tone,. �but at the end of the day, we won those titles on the pitch. We played the football, we scored the goals, we earned the points. Nobody handed us anything.. � The Spanish international, who has been a revelation for Xavi. �s side this season, went on to remind the powers that be that Barcelona have always given a good account of themselves in the toughest circumstances.. �Florentino Perez can talk all he wants from his office in Madrid. We are focused on our game, on our jersey, on representing this club with pride. The lion. �s share of our success came from hard work, not from any backroom arrangement,. � Lopez added. The Negreira case, which involves payments totalling over. ��1.2 billion (approximately. ��7 million) to a former refereeing official, has cast a long shadow over La Liga, but Barcelona have consistently denied any wrongdoing, insisting the payments were for technical consulting on refereeing matters. For the Blaugrana faithful, Lopez. �s defiance is a breath of fresh air. In the scheme of things, this is a young man who understands the weight of the badge and is not afraid to speak truth to power. His words will surely echo in the viewing centres of Surulere and the football parlours of Abuja, where fans will nod in agreement, clapping for the youngster who refused to bow to the Madrid establishment. As one fan put it,. �If the boy can stand up to Don Florentino like that, then Barcelona have a warrior in the making.. � The full press conference by Perez and the subsequent fallout will continue to dominate headlines, but for now, Fermin Lopez has reminded everyone that the game is won on grass, not in boardrooms.
