Barcelona – Just one month prior to the start of the World Cup, Brazilian superstar Neymar was scheduled to appear in a Spanish court on Tuesday regarding suspected irregularities in his transfer to Barcelona nearly a decade ago.
Neymar was scheduled to testify on either October 21 or 28, but the judge decided to move his hearing up to avoid a scheduling conflict with his soccer commitments.
Monday, while wearing sunglasses and a black suit, the 30-year-old and his parents came at the Provincial Court of Barcelona for the commencement of the trial.
Neymar spent two hours in court before the judge dismissed him from the rest of the day’s proceedings on the grounds that he needed to recuperate after playing on Sunday night.
The guy scored the game’s only goal against Marseille in Ligue 1.
“Da Silva Santos Junior scored a goal after I had already gone to bed,” said the president of the court, Jose Manuel del Amo.
The high-profile trial marks the climax of a lengthy legal battle over Neymar’s move from Santos to Barcelona in 2013.
In 2017, he joined Paris Saint-Germain, controlled by Qatar, for a world record 222 million euros.
Spanish prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence and a $9.7 million punishment for Neymar.
His parents and their company, N&N, which manages his affairs, are also among the nine defendants on trial for corruption-related accusations.
After a complaint was made in 2015 by DIS, a Brazilian business that owned 40 percent of the player’s sporting rights when he was with Santos, investigators began looking into the move.
Prosecutors believe the move cost at least €83 million, despite Barcelona’s claim that it cost €57,1 million.
The club reported paying €40 million to N&N and €17.1 million to Santos, of which €6.8 million went to DIS.
However, DIS claims that Neymar, Barcelona, and the Brazilian club collaborated to conceal the full cost of the transaction.
Sandro Rosell, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and Odilio Rodrigues Filho, three former presidents of FC Barcelona, are among the other defendants.
Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, is also scheduled to testify via videoconference on Tuesday regarding the impact of a 2011 secret pre-contract agreement between Barcelona and Neymar on the market.
“Neymar Junior, with the complicity of his parents, FC Barcelona and its directors at the time, and Santos FC at a later stage, cheated DIS of its lawful financial interests,” DIS attorney Paulo Nasser stated on Thursday.
DIS wants to reclaim €35 million.
Neymar’s attorneys argue that their client is innocent, stating that the 40 million euros was a “typical signing bonus in the football transfer market.”
They assert that Spanish authorities lack the authority to consider the case because the transfer involved Brazilians in Brazil.
The trial will conclude on October 31.
Five years ago, Neymar’s unexpected departure for PSG ignited a series of legal problems, with Barcelona withdrawing their contract extension incentive and suing the player for breach of contract, while Neymar countersued.
In 2021, the parties agreed a “amicable” out-of-court settlement.
Since joining PSG, the footballer is having one of his greatest seasons.
On Sunday, he scored his ninth league goal of the season against Marseille, and he has seven assists in 11 Ligue 1 appearances.
However, he appears to have strained relations with France international phenom Kylian Mbappe, with the 23-year-old reportedly asking that PSG sell the Brazilian.
Neymar is anticipated to play a pivotal part for Brazil in the World Cup in Qatar, where the South American powers will attempt to capture the trophy for the first time since 2002 and for the sixth time overall.
On November 24, he will lead the Selecao in their Group G opener against Serbia.
AFP