Neymar faces fraud trial for Barcelona transfer from Santos
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Five years since Neymar put a tumultuous end to his career at Barcelona, the Brazil forward will be tried in Spain to determine whether he and others committed fraud when he joined the Catalan club from Santos back in 2013.
In a trial starting Monday in Barcelona, Neymar, his father, and the former leaderships of both Barcelona and Brazilian club Santos face charges of fraud and unfair competition. They are accused of hiding the real cost of his transfer with the goal of not paying money that DIS, a private Brazilian company, says it is owed as the rightful owners of 40% of Neymar’s player rights.
DIS is asking for Neymar, his father, also called Neymar and who acts as his agent, and former Barcelona executives Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu to be jailed for five years.
All the accused have denied any wrongdoing.