Neymar cleared of fraud following corruption trial relating to his transfer to Barcelona

Brazilian star, Neymar celeared of fraud following corruption trial relating to his transfer to Barcelona

Brazilian football star, Neymar has been cleared of fraud and corruption over his controversial 2013 transfer from Santos to Barcelona.

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The PSG striker, along with his father and the ex-presidents of Santos and Barcelona, were accused of concealing the exact cost of his move.

The Brazilian company DIS, which controlled 40% of the player’s rights, claimed it was cheated out of its legitimate portion from the deal since the genuine worth was overstated. However, the Spanish court stated on Tuesday that “it has not been shown that there was a fraudulent contract or that DIS was meant to be injured.”

This follows the dismissal of all accusations by Spanish state prosecutors during the trial last month. Only the attorneys remained.

This comes after Spanish state prosecutors dropped all allegations during the trial last month. Only DIS’s lawyers remained to argue their case.

DIS had originally requested a five-year jail term for Neymar, 30. Following the departure of the state prosecutors, DIS’ attorneys decreased their requests to two and a half years in jail.

Neymar earlier told the court that he did not recall taking part in the conversations that led to a 2011 agreement with Barcelona about his move two years later.

Barcelona said the move cost £49 million, but investigators suspect it was at least £71 million.

The club stated that it paid £34 million to N&N and £15 million to Santos, of which £5.8 million was transferred to DIS. However, DIS claimed that Neymar, Barcelona, and the Brazilian club conspired to conceal the full cost of the transaction.

Among the other accused were two former Barcelona presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, as well as ex-Santos leader Odilio Rodrigues Filho.