Spanish prosecutors drop fraud charges against Neymar
Prosecutors in Spain dropped corruption and fraud charges against Neymar over his 2013 transfer to Barcelona on Friday.
The Brazilian football star was on trial with eight others on charges related to his transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013. Neymar later joined Paris Saint-Germain in a world record of 222-million-euro in 2017.
"There is not the slightest hint of crime," prosecutor Luis Garcia Canton said after all defendants had testified in the trial in Barcelona, asking the judge for the "acquittal of all defendants”.
The other defendants included Neymar's parents, former Santos president Odilio Rodrigues and former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell.
Brazilian investment firm, DIS, claimed that it owned 40% of the rights to Neymar's contract with Santos and they did not receive their money because the value of the transfer to Barcelona was undersold to them.
Prosecutors in court argued Neymar and the other defendants attempted to hide the true amount of the transfer fee so they could make a lower payment to DIS. They argued that the actual value was at least 83 million euros.
Spanish prosecutors wanted a two-year prison term for Neymar and the payment of a 10-million-euro fine.
Prosecutors showed the court a document that alleged Barcelona paid Neymar €40 million in 2011 to ensure he joins them when his contract with Santos expired in 2014.
Neymar's lawyers argued that the 40-million-euro payment from Barca was a "legal signing bonus which is normal in the football transfer market".
Neymar’s lawyers reportedly want to claim costs against the private prosecution for what they consider recklessness, acting in poor faith, and for abuse of process.
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