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Neymar, the Brazilian star of PSG, appeared in court in Barcelona on Monday morning to attend the opening of his trial, during which he will face charges of fraud and corruption relating to his transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013 The prosecution is demanding two years in prison and a fine of 10 million euros against the footballer.
One month before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, Neymar has an appointment with his past before a Barcelona court where he will have to explain himself from Monday on alleged embezzlement in the context of his transfer in 2013 to the Barca.
The Brazilian star, who left Barça in a sensational way in 2017 for Paris Saint-Germain, entered this court at around 9:45 a.m. (7:45 GMT), just hours after the final whistle of the “classic” against OM where he shone at the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening.
Dressed in a black suit and wearing sunglasses, “Ney” was accompanied by his parents, also prosecuted in this resounding trial which will last until October 31.
The PSG striker, who will lead the “Seleçao” from November 20 to conquer a sixth World Cup, is accused of corruption by the public prosecutor, who is claiming two years in prison and 10 million euros in fine against him.
In addition to Neymar and his parents, two former presidents of FC Barcelona – Sandro Rosell, for whom the prosecution requested five years in prison, and Josep María Bartomeu – and a former manager of his former Brazilian club Santos, Odilio Rodrigues Filho, are also accused in this case. Just like FC Barcelona, Santos FC and the company founded by the player’s parents to manage his career.
The court said the player – who said six years ago that it was his father who was managing his affairs at the time – was scheduled to testify on October 21 or 28, but did not specify. if it would be face-to-face.
Testimony of the President of Real Madrid
The second day, Tuesday, also promises to be a high point in the trial, since the prosecution has called to testify the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, who will intervene by videoconference to explain how the secret agreement reached in 2011 between the Barça and the player weighed on the transfer window by preventing other clubs from struggling to recruit Neymar.
It was the Brazilian investment company DIS, then holder of 40% of the player’s economic rights, which brought the case to court in 2015.
DIS considers having been harmed in the transfer of the striker, because if FC Barcelona initially calculated its cost at 57.1 million euros (40 million for Neymar and his family and 17.1 for Santos FC), the Spanish justice estimates that the recruitment of Neymar actually cost at least 83 million euros.
The company, which received 6.8 million euros of the 17.1 officially paid to the Brazilian club, claims that Barça, Neymar and then Santos FC teamed up to conceal the real amount of the operation and the have “cheated”. She is thus claiming 35 million euros, the amount she believes to have lost in the case.
For their part, Neymar’s lawyers claim that their client has not committed any crime, the 40 million euros he received corresponding, according to them, to “a legal and usual transfer bonus on the football market” .
This trial has been nicknamed “Neymar 2”, “Neymar 1” designating the case of tax evasion deriving from this same transfer and which was concluded in 2016 by an agreement between the prosecution and FC Barcelona, the Catalan club agreeing to pay a fine of 5.5 million euros.
Neymar and Barça had already found themselves in court in 2020, but this time face-to-face, the player claiming from the club the payment of a bonus of 43.6 million euros.
For its part, FC Barcelona had filed a complaint against its former player for breach of contract and won the case, Neymar having been ordered to pay 6.79 million euros to his former club.
“Ney” and Barça ended up signing an “amicable” agreement in July 2021 ending all financial disputes between them.
With AFP