The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perezhas appeared by videoconference as a witness in the trial that the DIS company has filed against Neymar and five other defendants, including Sandro Rosell and Joseph Maria Bartomeu, for an alleged crime of corruption in business and fraud in the signing of the Brazilian by Barça in 2013. Known as the Neymar-2 case, DIS asks for prison sentences in addition to millionaire fines for all the accused. Pérez’s statement was brief, although he admitted that Neymar was one of the white club’s goals in 2011 and that they offered for him. «We were interested, I think that like 10 years ago, this is how the sports management of the Real Madrid, although I did not speak with him on this subject, “he commented. The president of Real Madrid assured that he did not participate in the negotiations and gave very little information, summoning the summary query, where everything was explained: “I don’t know what the clause was but in 2011 the sports management made an offer to Santos, I think what of 45 millions. It is the only offer that I know of in the Real Madrid files,” Florentino explained.
Despite the fact that Madrid was very close to taking over the footballer’s services, but the white president cleared up the reasons why the Brazilian ended up dressed as a Barça player: «The players go where they want. Neymar I think he wanted to go to Barcelona and That’s why he went to Barcelona», he commented. Likewise, he commented that he did not know if there was a fine for Barça in case he wanted to sign him after Madrid made a first offer. “I had no knowledge,” he said.
Florentino also claimed to be unaware of DIS’s relationship with Neymar and if the investment fund had a percentage of his federal rights: “I don’t know or remember if DIS had rights over Neymar. I remember they sent us a letter. I don’t remember having met, nor having had conversations with Juan Figer. Doesn’t sound like anything to me. We have provided all the documentation to the summary », he explained. And he added: “I did not participate in anything. I guess we didn’t reply to the DIS letter because we had nothing to say, I guess. We did not have a very active participation in that negotiation », he insisted. Finally, he was clear about his relationship with the player: «I don’t know NeymarI have never talked to him on a personal level. Neither with Odilio Rodrigues».
It must be remembered that the prosecution asks two years in jail and a fine of 10 million euros for Neymar (the accusation raises the figure to five years in prison and requests that he be disqualified from playing football for the same period of time), who will have to sit on the defendant’s bench to serve statement one month before the start of the World Cup in Qatar. In addition, the Barcelona It appears as a legal person and the accusation demands the payment of 8.4 million euros.
This trial comes after the complaint filed at the time by the Brazilian company DIS, owned by the sonda brothers, feeling harmed after the transfer of Neymar to Barcelona. The Brazilian investment fund, which controls a conglomerate of supermarkets, gas stations and real estate, owned 40 percent of the striker’s federal rights when he was a member of Santos (5 percent belonged to Teisa, another 10 percent to the footballer himself). and the remaining 45 from the Brazilian club). Delcir Sonda, owner of the powerful supermarket chain from his country, he acquired them in 2009 (Neymar was then 17 years old) for an amount close to two million euros.
Both DIS and the Prosecutor’s Office accuse the player and his father of signing two simulated contracts with Barcelona in 2011, without taking into account that 40 percent which belonged to DIS. One of those two contracts, for which the Neymar received 40 million euros, served for the footballer to commit to signing for Barcelona before his relationship with him expired. Santos. And it was done behind the back of the DIS investment site. The trial for the crimes of corruption between individuals and fraud is held in seven sessions until October 31.
