Soccer

Neymar in the clear after fraud and corruption charges dropped

No case to answer for Paris Saint-Germain striker and other defendants over 2013 transfer to Barcelona

Neymar will have the right to have a final say — via video conference — next Monday on the trial’s last day. File photograph: Getty Images
Joan Faus
Fernando Kallas
Fri Oct 28 2022 - 17:28

Spanish prosecutors on Friday dropped all fraud and corruption charges against Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil forward Neymar and other defendants in a case over his transfer to Barcelona from Santos in 2013.

Prosecutors had sought a two-year prison term for Neymar and the payment of a €10 million fine in the case brought by Brazilian investment firm DIS, which owned 40 per cent of the rights to Neymar when he was at Santos.

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 told a Barcelona court after all defendants had testified, asking the judge for the “acquittal of all defendants”. The prosecution had also sought a five-year jail term for former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and an €8.4 million fine for Barcelona.

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At the start of the trial, DIS said it was demanding a five-year jail term for Neymar, and a total fine of €149 million for the defendants.

A source close to Neymar’s legal representatives, Baker McKenzie, said that they would claim costs against the private prosecution for what they consider recklessness, acting in poor faith and for abuse of process.

They will also reserve the right to claim damages.

Neymar will have the right to have a final say — via video conference — next Monday on the trial’s last day.

Signing bonus of €40m

A court document released in July alleges that Barcelona initiated negotiations in 2011 with Neymar, paying him €40 million to ensure his move when his contract with Santos would expire in 2014.

“I believe it’s excessive to consider that offering €40 million is a crime,” said the prosecutor, calling it a signing bonus.

Before the prosecutor dropped his charges, Mr Rosell had downplayed the €40 million payment.

“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.

Jose Domingo Barral, former president of Brazil’s conglomerate Grupo Sonda, which included DIS, told the court a Barcelona representative offered them €5.5 million twice — the latest in 2015 — to withdraw DIS’s complaint.

DIS received €6.8 million — 40 per cent of Neymar’s official transfer price of €17.1 million — but Mr Barral said the figure was unrealistic given the player’s valuation. — Reuters

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