Izuchukwu Okosi
Corruption and fraud charges against former Barcelona star Neymar were on Friday dropped by prosecutors in Spain following the controversial signing of the Brazilian from his onetime hometown club.
The charges were made against the Paris St-Germain and Brazil forward and others accused in a trial over his 2013 transfer from Santos to Barcelona.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Prosecutors had initially sought a two-year jail term and a 10m euro (£8.6m) fine for the 30-year-old.
But in a twist Friday afternoon, the prosecutors announced the withdrawal of charges “against all the accused for all the allegations” they had faced.
The other defendants in the case included Neymar’s parents, the two clubs, former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and former Santos president Odilio Rodrigues.
Neymar, who denied the allegations, had said he did not remember if he took part in negotiations. An agreement was reached in 2011 reportedly after the Club World Cup for his move from Santos to Barcelona, which was completed two years later.
Investment firm DIS, which acquired a 40% share of Neymar’s rights when he was 17 in exchange for 2m euros, has argued it lost out because the transfer fee was undervalued.
DIS lawyer Paulo Nasser claimed there were clubs that offered up to 60m euros.
Barcelona said at the time of Neymar’s move that the fee was 57.1m euros, of which 40m euros was paid to his family – DIS received a 40% share of the remaining 17.1m euros that was paid to Brazilian club Santos.
The Brazilian footballer lost an appeal in Spain’s High Court in 2017, leading to the trial being brought by Spanish prosecutors.
DIS had asked for a five-year jail term for Neymar, as well as prison sentences for Rosell and Bartomeu, plus a 149m euros fine. Prosecutors had been seeking a five-year jail term for Rosell, plus an 8.4m euros fine for Barcelona, as well as a two-year sentence for Neymar and 10m euros fine.
However, Baker McKenzie, the lawyers representing the Neymar family, claimed that Spanish courts “lack jurisdiction to prosecute the Neymar family and their company N&N” because the acts were committed by Brazilian nationals outside Spanish territory.
They also pointed out that the alleged crimes were not punishable in Brazil.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
