On Friday, the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office dropped charges of corruption and fraud against soccer star Neymar and others who were accused in the case of the Brazilian’s transfer from the Brazilian club Santos to Barcelona in 2013. The prosecutor announced the “withdrawal of charges against all defendants on all charges” against them.
The 30-year-old Neymar claimed that he does not remember whether he participated in the negotiations that led to an agreement with “Barcelona” in 2011 for his transfer two years later from “Santos” to the Spanish team. Spanish prosecutors demanded that Neymar, the leader of the Brazilian team, who has to go to the World Cup in Qatar next month, be sentenced to two years in prison, as well as a fine of ten million euros.
Neymar wants to be sentenced to two years in prison
The dismissal of the charges marks the end of a years-long legal saga surrounding Neymar’s move to Europe. He then joined Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2017 in a world record €222 million transfer. Neymar was one of nine defendants indicted on corruption charges. Among them were the footballer’s parents and their company “N&N”, which manages Neymar’s business.
Even if the Brazilian had been convicted, in Spain, a first-time offender is never given a prison term of less than two years. The prosecutor’s office began to investigate the circumstances of the transfer to the Barcelona club following a complaint in 2015 filed by the Brazilian company DIS, which owned 40% of the rights to the player’s income in sports when he was at the Santos club. The company claimed that Neymar, Barcelona and the Brazilian club colluded to mask the true cost of the transfer, thereby defrauding DIS.
“Barca” mentioned that the transfer amounted to 57.1 million euros, of which 40 million euros were paid to the company “N&N” and 17.1 million to “Santos”, of which 6.8 million were allocated to DIS. Spanish prosecutors believed the actual value of the transfer was at least 83 million euros. DIS sought to recover 35 million euros.
Neymar is currently enjoying one of his best seasons at PSG and is tipped to play a key role in Brazil’s World Cup squad in Qatar. He scored nine goals and collected seven assists in 11 French championship matches. Brazil, which has not won the World Cup since 2022, will play the first match of Group G against Serbia in Qatar on November 24.
