The appointments between Neymar and the Spanish justice are still not over. The Brazilian star of PSG will indeed be tried from October 17 to 31 in Barcelona for alleged irregularities committed during his transfer from Santos to FC Barcelona in 2013, we learned this Wednesday from the Spanish courts.
Accused of “corruption in business” and “fraud” like the other defendants, the famous No. 10 will be tried alongside the former presidents of Barça, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, one month before the World Cup in Qatar (November 21-December 18).
Blind trust in his father
The beginnings of this endless affair date back to 2015. The former holder of part of the player’s rights, the DIS fund, believes that he was defrauded during the player’s transfer between his training club and Barça. The latter communicated on a transfer of 57.1 M€ – 40 M€ for the family of Neymar and 17.1 M€ for Santos, including 6.8 M€ for DIS. For its part, the Brazilian justice has calculated that Neymar cost at least 83 M€. In fact, DIS considered having been wronged, accusing Barça and the Neymar clan of having minimized the sum which should have been returned to him.
In October 2018, the Spanish magistrate in charge of the case, who had also appointed three judges, had estimated the sentence incurred by the player between 4 and 6 years in prison. The prosecution finally demanded two years in prison and a 10 million euro fine against Neymar. In his deposition before the judge, the player then pleaded that he only played football and placed blind trust in his father, also his agent.
The Brazilian group DIS, which said in a press release “satisfied” with the announcement of the trial schedule, considers that the damage was double. On the one hand because he did not receive what he should have at the time of the transfer and on the other hand because an exclusive agreement signed between Barça and Neymar had prevented other clubs from outbidding. Under this agreement signed in 2011 for 40 million euros, Neymar had agreed to sign at Barça at the end of his contract with Santos.
Previously, Neymar and FC Barcelona have been opposed on several occasions. Between 2017 and 2021, four procedures were launched, including the claim for 3.5 million euros from PSG number 10 for non-payment, or that of Barça asking for 10 million euros from its former player for fraud. tax measures. In 2020, the Spanish justice condemned the captain of the Selecao to pay 6.7 M€ to Barcelona. The two parties ended their legal disputes last year.