Neymar, a star player for PSG and Brazil, is being accused of corruption and fraud, and proposals are being made for a five-year prison term.
The 30-year-old is due in court the following week to answer to allegations stemming from his £49.6 million (€57.1 million) transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013.
The now-PSG star’s transfer from Santos, according to Brazilian investment group DIS, was undervalued, which caused them to lose out. They had previously purchased 40% of the player’s rights for £1.7 million (€2 million) when he was just 17 years old.
Of the fee, £34.8 million (€40 million) went to his parents, with the remaining sum going to the Brazilian club, of which DIS earned 40%.
The investment group asserts, however, that Barcelona turned down better bids. According to their attorney Paulo Nesser, “Neymar’s rights have not been sold to the highest bidder.”
There were clubs that made bids of up to £52.2 million (€60 million).
The DIS is asking for a five-year prison sentence for the player as well as a £129.6 million (€149 million) fine and an additional prison term for Bartomeu and Rosell.
The Spanish prosecutors who are prosecuting the case, however, are merely seeking a two-year sentence and an £8.7 million (€10 million) punishment for Neymar, five years for Rosell, and a £7.3 million (€8.4 million) fine for Barcelona.
However, Neymar’s family attorneys, Baker McKenzie, have released a statement of their own that claims the transfer did not violate any FIFA regulations and that the alleged offenses are not punishable in the forward’s home country.
They further asserted that the family is accused with “corruption between private individuals” and that the Spanish courts “without jurisdiction” to hear the case because the alleged offenses occurred in Brazil.
