Trouble seems to be mounting up for Brazilian star Neymar, who is set to face trial in October this year over alleged irregularities in his transfer to FC Barcelona from Brazilian club Santos in 2013. As per a report in AFP, judicial sources informed that Neymar along with his parents and former FC Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu will be tried for alleged corruption in the Brazilian’s transfer to Barcelona.
Neymar, who currently plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), joined the Ligue 1 outfit from Barcelona in 2017 for a record transfer fee of 222 million euros making him the most expensive transfer in football history. However, Neymar isn’t facing legal trouble for his move to PSG but for his transfer from Santos to Barcelona.
A Brazilian company DIS has levelled charges of corruption against Neymar and his parents while former Barcelona presidents Rosell and Bartomeu are also set to face charges of fraud. DIS are former owners of a percentage of Neymar’s rights and were supposed to earn a part of the player’s transfer fee earned by Santos from Barcelona for his transfer in 2013.
Barcelona had officially announced that they paid a transfer fee of 57.1 million ($63.6 million) for Neymar’s transfer from Santos in 2013, out of which 40 million euros were paid to the footballer’s family and the remaining 17.1 million euros went to Santos. Santos paid 6.8 million out of the 17.1 million to DIS for the player’s rights.
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However, Spanish prosecutors later revealed that Barcelona actually paid at least 83.3 million euros for Neymar’s transfer from Santos after DIS alleged that the Brazilian footballer had joined hands with Barcelona to hide the real cost of the entire deal. Thus, DIS have levelled charges against Neymar, his parents as his father acts as his agent, and former Barcelona presidents Rossell and Bartomeu.
While Rossell was the president of Barcelona when the transfer took place, he later resigned in January 2014 over corruption charges in Neymar’s transfer. Bartomeu then took over as the new president of the La Liga club. The two will face charges of corruption and fraud in the matter. The trial is set to take place from October 17 to 31 this year, as per AFP.
Neymar has insisted he was only focused on the footballing aspect of his transfer to Barcelona and trusted his father, who is also his agent. Meanwhile, the prosecutors have requested a two-year prison sentence for the footballer. This is not the first time Neymar is in trouble over financial irregularities.
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The Brazilian, who is one of the best-paid footballers in the world at present, was on the ‘blacklist’ of Spanish authorities over unpaid taxes, as per a document in 2020. He has also faced fines over tax evasion in his native country Brazil.
If the charges against him are proved, Neymar can face a potential prison sentence which will shatter his hopes for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022. He is Brazil’s second-highest goal-scorer of all time and his absence can prve to be a huge blow for the Selecao at the World Cup.
(With inputs from agencies)
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