Barcelona have been accused of paying former VP of Technical Committee of Referees Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira somewhere in the range of $1.5 million during the Bartomeu presidency. The club claims it was for advisory work, which Negreira also states, but who really knows. If found guilty, I would expect a point deduction of some sort. They could be relegated too, but point deductions seem to be the more common punishment. In terms of entertainment for me, that might not be the worst thing in the world. For a couple of weeks now papers have been asking "Hay Liga?" which essentially is asking if there is any competition at the top of the table. Barca have an 8 point lead and look pretty much unstoppable at this point. I don't want to comment on it too much because so many details are unknown.
On the field, Xavi looks to have settled on a system. Sure, you can call it a 4-3-3 but it's not. The LB, either Balde or Alba, play so advanced that they're basically a winger. The space is cleared because Gavi (who is the "LW") is really playing as part of a four man midfield anchored by a dual pivot with Gavi and Pedri in front, essentially a midfield box. Kounde is the RB but not in the Dani Alves mold, holding back more often than not. So in attack they look more like a 3-2-4-1. The engines up front are really Pedri providing creativity and Gavi bringing an edge along with some guile. Kounde's versatility helps because he can provide help to Dembele or Raphina, but the whole thing is held together by Ronald Araujo (we have to use his first name now that Julian is on his way to the Nou Camp). Araujo has to play as the traditional Barca CB whenever Kounde goes forward ala Pique, as well as a central CB in a three man back line. Xavi as stuck with this system despite injuries to key players. It will be interesting to see if he continues when the team is invariably rotated in the next few weeks. The tie with Man U will be a great test just to see how the system holds up against a non-Spanish team.