On Friday, Spanish prosecutors dismissed all allegations of corruption and fraud against soccer star Neymar and the other defendants in a case involving the Brazilian’s 2013 transfer from Santos to Barcelona.
Spain’s prosecutors dismiss Neymar’s corruption and fraud charges
The prosecutor made a stunning announcement, “withdrawing charges against everyone defendants and for all the claims” they had been subjected to.
Neymar, 30, has previously stated that he was unable to recall if he participated in the talks that resulted in an agreement being signed with Barcelona in 2011 over his transfer from Brazilian club Santos to the Spanish team two years later.
Neymar, a crucial component of the Brazil team that will go to the World Cup in Qatar next month, had faced a two-year prison sentence and a 10-million-euro ($9.7-million) punishment from Spanish authorities.
The dismissal of the allegations brings to an end a protracted judicial battle over Neymar’s well-publicized move to Europe.
In a 2017 move that set a global record, he then joined Paris Saint-Germain, which is controlled by Qatar.
Neymar was one of nine defendants who were on trial for alleged corruption-related offences, including his parents and their N&N firm, which handles his business activities.
Even if he had been found guilty, first-time offenders in Spain are never sentenced to prison sentences of two years or less.
After DIS, a Brazilian firm that held 40% of the player’s sports rights while he was at Santos, the club where he first gained international notoriety, filed a complaint in 2015, investigators started looking into the sale to Barcelona.
The company asserts that Neymar, Barcelona, and the Brazilian team conspired to conceal the real cost of his move, depriving it of its rightful financial interests.
According to Barca, the deal was worth 57.1 million euros, of which 6.8 million euros went to DIS and 40 million euros went to N&N and Santos.
The true worth, according to Spanish prosecutors, was at least 83 million euros.