The day after his goal and his very solid performance in the Classic against OM, Neymar is in Barcelona on Monday October 17, but not at Camp Nou, the stadium of his former club. The Brazilian striker was indeed comparing to respond to alleged embezzlement in the context of his transfer from Santos to FC Barcelona. Here’s what you need to know about this lawsuit.
Why this lawsuit?
At the origin of the case, the Brazilian group DIS, former partial holder of Neymar’s rights, had considered itself aggrieved during the transfer of the striker and had filed a complaint against Neymar, his father, the club of Santos, the Barça and their leaders.
The DIS group accuses Neymar and Barça of having hidden from it the real amount of the player’s transfer (figure at 57.1 million euros by Barça, including 40 for Neymar’s family, 17.1 paid to Santos who has paid 6.8 million to DIS) to give it less money. According to justice, the transfer would have, in reality, cost at least 83.3 million euros. The DIS group is thus claiming 35 million euros, the amount it estimates to have lost in the case.
In 2016, this transfer had already been worth a first procedure, for tax fraud, which had been concluded by an agreement between the parquet floor and the FC Barcelona, which had paid a fine of 5.5 million euros.
Who are the defendants?
They are nine implicated in the Barcelona court, for “corruption” and for “fraud”. Neymar is the best known of them. Among the eight other defendants are his parents, two former presidents of FC Barcelona – Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu – and a former manager of his former Brazilian club Santos, Odilio Rodrigues Filho. The other defendants are three legal entities: FC Barcelona, Santos FC and the company founded by the player’s parents to manage his career.
What are the requisitions?
For Neymar, his father and his mother, the Spanish public prosecutor requested two years in prison and a ten million fine. Neymar’s lawyers claim that their client has not committed any crime, the 40 million euros he received corresponding, according to them, to “a legal and customary transfer bonus in the football market”. For Sandro Rosell, president of FC Barcelona at the time, the prosecution demanded five years in prison and a fine of 10 million euros, while he asked nothing for his successor, Josep Maria Bartomeu. As for the two clubs, 8.4 million fine against Barça and 1.4 million against Santos are requested.
How long will the trial last?
The trial, which opens Monday in the presence of Neymar, will normally last until October 31, and will end barely twenty days before the opening of the World Cup in Qatar. The court said the player was scheduled to testify either on October 21 or October 28, but did not specify whether it would be face-to-face. This will be one of the highlights of this procedure, as well as the hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, of Florentino Perez, current and then president of Real Madrid, who will come to explain how the agreement between Neymar and the Barca prevented other clubs from struggling to sign him.