Barcelona host Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season at Camp Nou. Tension has been building before the match, with off-field disputes centring on Javier Tebas, refereeing and the Negreira case.
Tebas and Real Madrid in public dispute
The Independent said Real Madrid issued a 'Comunicado Oficial' on Friday afternoon demanding Javier Tebas resign after he compared the club's criticism of referees through their in-house TV channel to 'propaganda techniques' used by the Nazis during the second world war.
Real Madrid called the language used by Tebas 'deeply offensive' and 'morally repugnant'.
The Independent said Tebas issued his second lengthy social media post of the day in which he largely doubled down in accusing Real Madrid of 'intimidation' and seeking to 'destroy' the Spanish league.
Barcelona, Negreira and Laporta's response
Real Madrid have demanded a 'full clarification' as to why payments of €7.3m (£6.5m) from Barcelona to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira were made between 2001 and 2018.
Barcelona and Negreira deny wrongdoing and were cleared by Uefa investigators in 2023.
Laporta said the payments related to consultancy work and providing reports on referees.
The Independent said Barcelona president Joan Laporta criticised Real Madrid for 'constantly attacking' LaLiga and praised Tebas for being a 'counter' to Madrid's accusations.
Banners and documents add to the row
The Independent said Madrid supporters unveiled a banner during the home win over Sevilla that read: 'It's not football, it's Tebas and Negreira'.
The Independent said earlier in October Real Madrid sent Uefa a '50,000-page' dossier of documents which they say relate to the 'integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system'.
The Independent said Florentino Perez accused Barcelona of 'stealing' seven league titles from Real Madrid in May.
The Independent said Barcelona withdrew from the European Super League in February.
The football backdrop before the Clasico
Jose Mourinho is returning to Camp Nou for the first Clasico of the season.
Barcelona have scored 50 goals in their first 12 matches of the season.
Hansi Flick's team won their first 11 in a row until Tuesday's Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona lead Real Madrid by six points in LaLiga.
The Independent said Real Madrid suffered their first defeat of the season.
The Independent said Mourinho arrived at his press conference following the heated 2-1 derby defeat at Atletico Madrid holding printouts of the 'two clear red cards' Diego Simeone's team should have received in the first half.