Paris Saint-Germain star player Neymar will go on trial for alleged fraud in conjunction with his move from Santos to Barcelona. According to rumors, the prosecutor’s office in Catalunya is also bringing charges against Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, two of Barcelona’s former presidents.
Brazilian investment group DIS has revealed that Neymar will begin his trial on October 17 – four weeks before the 2022 FIFA World Cup starts in Qatar.
Recall that Barcelona acquired Neymar from Santos for a reported sum of €17.1 million (£14 million/$17 million) in July 2013. But DIS which had 40% of Neymar’s rights while he was playing for Santos, thought the transaction contained far more money.
Also, Barcelona allegedly paid an additional €7.9 million for the preferential rights of three players from Santos known as Victor Andrade, Gabriel Barbosa, and Giva, and another €40m (£34m/$41m) to N&N which is a company owned by Neymar and his family.
However, the Brazilian investment group has reported that they should have gotten more money from the deal and also made a complaint about the issue in 2015.
According to them, the investigation started in 2015 and the prosecutors’ office wants Neymar to be handed a two-year prison term plus a €10m fine and a five-year prison term for ex-president Rosell.
The Barcelona court asks for Neymar to have a two-year prison sentence for presumed corruption when signing for Barça, but the prosecution are asking for 5 years, and for the player to be banned from playing professional football during this period.
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) July 26, 2022
— @elpais_deportes pic.twitter.com/De10LguRi8
The Spanish La Liga giants Barcelona may receive a fine of up to €8.4m.
This is the second time a trial will take place for the suspicious transfer as the DIS group has been dragging the legal situation for many years. This is coming after an investigation was carried out by the Madrid prosecutor’s office in 2014.
How much did Neymar cost Barça?
Neymar’s time with Barcelona was filled with controversies right from the year he switched from his boyhood club Santos in 2013 until his exit from the Spanish club. Barca stated that they paid €57million (£49m) to sign the Brazilian star player on a five-year deal, however, it later emerged the transfer fee was in the region of €80million (£68m). The Brazilian later left the club in 2017 to join French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain in an attempt to escape from Lionel Messi’s shadow.
Neymar’s stats in Barcelona
The 30-year-old had an amazing time with Barcelona as he ended up scoring 105 goals in 186 games for the club. He went on to win the UEFA Champions League, Spanish La Liga, and other domestic trophies with the Spanish giants.
However, he felt that Lionel Messi was limiting his influence which made him leave in 2017.
Neymar’s stay in Paris Saint-Germain has had its ups and downs as he was heavily linked with a move away to clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City this summer.
