Neymar, his family, Barcelona, and Santos will all be on trial next week on corruption and fraud allegations related to his 2013 transfer to Barcelona, according to a Brazilian investment group, and they all want him to receive a five-year prison sentence. Due to their half ownership of Neymar at the time, the investment company feels they were entitled to more money than they actually received.
Next week, Neymar will go on trial for fraud and corruption related to his 2013 move from Brazilian club Santos to Barcelona. Brazilian investment firm DIS has called for the footballer to receive a five-year prison sentence.
Neymar, his parents, Barcelona and its previous presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as Santos and its former president Odilio Rodrigues, are all defendants in the case that Spanish prosecutors are bringing.
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Neymar’s rights were 40% held by DIS when he was still playing for Santos. The investment company now claims that because the genuine worth of the contract was overstated, it missed out on its cut from the Brazilian’s transfer to Barcelona. For €2 million, DIS purchased 40% of Neymar’s rights when he was just 17 years old.
Neymar has previously refuted the validity of DIS’s assertion, but he was unsuccessful in his 2017 appeal before Spain’s High Court.
In addition, DIS is asking for jail terms for Rosell and Bartomeu as well as a €149 million fine.
Neymar is seeking a two-year prison sentence along with a €10 million fine, and Rosell is seeking a five-year sentence along with a €8.4 million punishment for Barcelona.
The Catalan club reported that Neymar’s transfer cost was €57.1m, of which €40m went to Neymar’s family. The remaining €17.1 million that was given to Santos was then split 40% between DIS and Santos.
The rights to Neymar have not been offered to the highest bidder. There were certain clubs that made offers of up to €60 million, DIS attorney Paulo Nasser revealed at a news conference on Thursday in Barcelona.
The Neymar family’s attorneys, Baker McKenzie, stated that because the crimes were committed by Brazilian nationals outside of Spanish territory, Spanish courts “without jurisdiction to pursue the Neymar family and their company N&N.” The fact that the claimed crimes are not crimes in Brazil was also brought up.
Neymar and his family have been accused of “corruption between private individuals,” which pertains to “competition of products and services between corporations,” according to the statement, which also noted that Neymar “is not a service or a commodity.”
The Paris Saint-Germain player must physically appear in court in Barcelona on Monday for the first day of the trial, according to the court there. It is unclear, however, if he will be required to remain throughout the entire hearing, which could last two weeks.
The testimony of Neymar and his parents, Rosell and Bartomeu, will begin the following Friday.