Neymar acquitted in trial for alleged irregularities in his transfer to FC Barcelona

Spanish justice acquitted the Brazilian star Neymar and the rest of the defendants for the alleged irregularities committed in his signing for FC Barcelona in 2013, in line with the criteria of the Prosecutor’s Office, which had withdrawn its accusations in the final stretch of the trial held in October.

“The Court acquits Neymar and the rest of the defendants for corruption between individuals and fraud,” he said. the court of the Audiencia de Barcelona in a statement about the ruling published this Tuesday, which exonerates all those designated by the Brazilian company DIS.

The judgment of the trial, which opened its oral phase a month after the start of the World Cup, is good news for Neymar just days after the painful elimination of Brazil against Croatia in the quarterfinals of the Cup in Qatar. The judicial horizon, however, It already looked much clearer for “Ney” since the Prosecutor’s Office -which initially requested two years in prison and a fine of 10 million euros (10.5 million dollars)- gave the surprise on the penultimate day of hearings, by dropping all charges against the defendants.

Opinion also shared by the magistratesaccording to the ruling.

“From the practiced test there are no indications that the player was offered a bribe and/or that he demanded it to sign for the Barcelona Football Club. The prosecution makes deductions that do not go beyond mere suspicion. They are not indications of criminality,” the sentence states.

In addition to Neymar and his parents, Two former Barça presidents -Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu- were also exonerated. and a former manager of Santos, Odilio Rodrigues Filho, as well as FC Barcelona itself, the Brazilian club and the company that manages the striker’s career in this long process started seven years ago by DIS.

This Brazilian company, owner of 40% of Neymar’s federative rights when he was still a promise for Santos, had resorted to the Spanish justice system in 2015 accusing Barça, the player and his family -and later also the São Paulo club- of having deceived him to hide the real amount of the millionaire transfer.

DIS also reproached them for not having informed him of an alleged exclusive contract signed in 2011 with Barça, and that he would have adulterated free competition to take over the promising attacker.

But the Prosecutor’s Office, which initially shared part of the DIS accusations, ended up considering that the allegations were not based on evidence. “not even indicative”, but in “presumptions”, and that it was more of a civil case than a criminal one.

With his unexpected turn, the Barcelona prosecutor contradicted the vision of his colleagues in Madridwhere the journey of this complex case had started, which ended up being sent to the Court of Barcelona.

Although the change of the Public Ministry did not determine the final decision, Yes, he dealt a heavy blow to the indictment, that was left only in the hands of DIS, thanks to the fact that the Spanish legal system allows the alleged victim of a crime to appear as an accuser in a process.

Finally, the Brazilian fund He ended up also lowering his requests for Neymar to two years and six months in prison, of the five that he initially requested.

The oral trial brought the striker back to Barcelonafrom where he left abruptly in 2017 for Paris Saint-Germain.

In his brief statement before the court, a serene “Ney” assured that He only signed the documents indicated by his father, in which he fully trusts.

The attacker said he had not participated in any negotiation, but that his will was always clear: fulfill his dream and sign for Barça, ruling out offers like Real Madrid’s.

That operation would end up turned, however, into a mixed legal saga that It has been going on for almost a decade.

Despite the fact that Barça initially estimated his signing at 57.1 million euros (40 million for his family and 17.1 for Santos), Spanish justice estimated that it reached at least 83 million.

For DIS, which received 6.8 million of the official amount paid by the Brazilian club, the Catalan team, Neymar and later Santos they concealed around 35 million euros through various camouflaged contracts that they now claim before the courts.

The controversial operation already earned Barça a fine of 5.5 million euros due to tax irregularities, in addition to various demands crossed with Neymar after his high-profile march to PSG.

Finally, the entity and the 10 of the ‘Seleçao’ reached an agreement “in a friendly way” last year to close all pending processes.