Neymar reacts after Spanish prosecutor withdraws all charges against him with regards to Barcelona transfer
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The Spanish Prosecutor’s Office reportedly withdrew its charges of fraud and corruption against Brazilian International. Neymar could have received a two-year prison term and a €10 million punishment for alleged irregularities surrounding his 2013 sale to Barcelona. In July 2013, Barcelona paid Santos merely €17 million (£14.5 million) to acquire Neymar.
However, the Brazilian investment firm DIS, which held 40% of Neymar’s rights while he was playing for Santos, asserted that far more money was involved in the deal. All of the defendants in the trial, including the PSG attacker, his parents, and former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rossell and Josep Bartomeu, had the allegations against them withdrawn.
DIS argues that it lost out on its rightful cut from the transfer because the true value was understated. “There is not the slightest hint of crime,” prosecutor Luis Garcia Canton said after all defendants had testified in the trial in Barcelona, asking the judge for the “acquittal of all defendants”. Additionally, the prosecution asked for a €8.4 million fine for Barcelona and a five-year prison sentence for former Barca president Sandro Rosell.
At the beginning of the trial, DIS stated that it was seeking a five-year prison sentence for Neymar as well as a combined €149 million fine for the defendants. According to a source close to Neymar’s attorney Baker McKenzie, they will seek costs from the private prosecution for what they view as negligence, bad faith, and abuse of the judicial system. Additionally, they reserve the right to file a damage claim.
Barcelona paid Neymar €40 million as a ‘Signing Bonus’ in 2011
According to a court document published in July, Barcelona started talks with Neymar in 2011 and paid him €40 million to assure his transfer when his contract with Santos expired in 2014. “I believe it’s excessive to consider that offering €40m is a crime,” the prosecutor said, calling it a signing bonus.
Rosell downplayed the €40m payment before the prosecutor dismissed his allegations. “It’s like when you buy an apartment and make a down payment … it’s paying to have a priority future right of what you want to acquire,” the former Barcelona chief testified. 40% of Neymar’s official transfer fee of €17.1 million, or €6.8 million, went to DIS, but Barral argued that given the player’s worth, such an amount was unreasonable.
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Sujeeth Shetty
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