The Spanish prosecutor’s office withdrew all charges against the Brazilian player from Paris Saint-Germain and all of the defendants on Friday.
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It is a judicial twist, which makes Neymar happy. The Spanish prosecutor’s office withdrew, on Friday, October 28, all its charges against him and the other defendants of the trial on the alleged irregularities having surrounded the transfer of the Brazilian international to FC Barcelona in 2013. Intervening during one of the last hearings of this trial taking place in Barcelona, less than a month from the World Cup, the prosecutor announced “withdraw the accusation against all the defendants and for all the facts” who are accused of them. The prosecution had initially requested two years in prison and ten million euros in fines against the Brazilian star of Paris Saint-Germain, accused of corruption.
⚽ A twist in Barcelona at the trial over the alleged irregularities surrounding the transfer of Neymar to Barça in 2013: the prosecution has withdrawn all charges of corruption and fraud against the player and the other defendants #AFP pic.twitter.com/lLPfibzHck
– Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) October 28, 2022
In addition to Neymar and his parents, two former presidents of Barça – Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu – and a former manager of the Brazilian club Santos, Odilio Rodrigues Filho, are on trial in this trial which is due to end on Monday.
Spanish justice seeks to determine in this trial whether the Brazilian investment company DIS – holder of 40% of the player’s rights when he played for the Brazilian club Santos, before his departure for Barcelona – had been defrauded during this transfer . DIS, which brought the case to court in 2015, believes that it was wronged during this operation and claims that Barça, Neymar and his family and then Santos, in a second step, joined forces to conceal the real amount of the operation and “scam him“.
She criticizes them for not having informed her of the existence of an exclusive contract signed in 2011 between the player and Barça which, according to her, distorted the transfer window by preventing other clubs from fighting to recruit Neymar. . “Ney” and his parents denied any irregularities during the hearings.
This trial has been dubbed “Neymar 2”, “Neymar 1” designating the tax evasion case deriving from this same transfer. It was concluded in 2016 by an agreement between the prosecution and Barça who had agreed to pay a fine of 5.5 million. Neymar and Barça also clashed in court but ended up signing an “amicable” agreement in July 2021 ending all their disputes.