Neymar acquitted of corruption over Barcelona transfer
Neymar has been acquitted of all charges by a Spanish court in the fraud case relating to his transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013.
The judges decided to acquit the nine defendants who were being prosecuted in this trial, including FC Barcelona, former club presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, Santos FC and Neymar’s father, the court said in a statement.
Brazilian sports investment firm DIS, which owned 40 percent of Neymar’s sporting rights when he was at Santos, filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging it had been defrauded during the player’s transfer to Barcelona.
It claimed Neymar, Barcelona and the Brazilian club colluded to mask the true cost of his transfer thereby cheating it of its proper share of the player’s transfer.
DIS also argued that it was not informed of the existence of an exclusivity contract in 2011 between Neymar and Barcelona.
The 30-year-old will take a break after Brazil’s 2022 World Cup quarter-final loss to Croatia before returning to club side Paris Saint-Germain. The Ligue 1 champions are due back in competitive action on December 28 against Strasbourg.
