The legal furore surrounding Neymar’s controversial 2013 move to Spanish Liga football club Barcelona is set to come to a close after a Madrid court today (Friday) dismissed a second case concerning the transfer.
National Court judge Jose de la Mata ended the complaint brought against the Brazilian superstar, his father and agent Neymar Da Silva Santos, former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and ex-Santos president Odilio Rodrigues, along with Barcelona itself, according to a written ruling.
The claim had been brought forward by Brazilian investment group DIS, which held 40 per cent of Neymar’s sporting rights when he played at Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Santos, but believed it received smaller compensation than it should have because part of the transfer fee was concealed.
Neymar and his father, along with Barcelona’s current president Josep Maria Bartomeu and predecessor Rosell all denied any wrongdoing when they appeared in court in February. After months of deliberation, judge De la Mata told Catalan broadcaster Catalunya Radio today that there was not sufficient evidence to continue the investigation.
Today’s ruling comes after Barcelona last month agreed to pay a fine of €5.5m ($6.06m) to the Spanish authorities to settle a long-running tax fraud case relating to the signing of Neymar. The Audencia Nacional in Madrid accepted the state prosecutor’s request to open the trial in May 2015. Judge De la Mata said in a written ruling there was evidence that the defendants “knew the real cost of the signing of Neymar would be greater” than what they recorded in the club’s 2013 accounts.
Barcelona consistently denied any wrongdoing, with Spain’s public prosecutor having originally requested a substantial fine for the club and jail terms for Rosell and Bartomeu. Barcelona originally said that the signing of Neymar from Santos in May 2013 had cost €57.1m. However, the club then admitted that the deal was worth nearly €100m and voluntarily paid an extra €13.5m to the Spanish treasury after being charged with tax fraud. Including tax, the total cost of signing Neymar to Barcelona should have been €94.9m, according to prosecutor Jose Perals.
The case had transferred to the Audiencia Provincial of Barcelona, and Barcelona faced probes in Spain and Brazil over allegations that it had concealed part of Neymar’s transfer fee when he moved to the Catalan giant.
Spanish newspaper AS today said the latest ruling clears both Neymar and the club, with the player currently in Brazil preparing for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. AS added that Neymar will be back in Barcelona on July 15 to confirm a contract extension securing his future with the reigning Liga champion until 2021.
Credit: SportBusiness
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