Real Madrid were one of two La Liga sides who declined to contribute to the joint statement against Barcelona and the Negreira case.

Historical payments to a former referee chief in Spain have seen Barcelona accused of paying for an unfair advantage over the rest of La Liga, with 17 of the division’s 20 teams releasing a statement voicing their concern.

Barcelona were obviously not part, with both Real Madrid and Valencia also not involved in the discussions.

According to Marca, Real’s absence from the statement released from La Liga’s Delegate Commission is easy to explain – Los Blancos are not part of the group in the first place.

Real do not have a representative in the Delegate Commission and were therefore not part of the planning of the statement.

Further reports from Sport have suggested that Real later declined to add their name to the statement as they had not been responsible for any contributions towards it.

La Liga have so far declined to open their own investigation into Barcelona’s conduct, instead allowing the Prosecutor’s Office to continue their work on the Barçagate scandal so as to avoid compromising the case.

League president Javier Tebas has, however, warned Barcelona could face strict sporting punishments if they are found to have breached regulations.