Brazil football star Neymar acquitted of all criminal charges by a Spanish court
Neymar has been acquitted of all the criminal charges
Brazil football star Neymar has been acquitted of all charges by a Spanish court in a fraud and corruption trial concerning his big-money transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013. The judgement comes a little more than a month after the trial was wrapped up.
"It has not been proven that there was a false contract or that DIS was intended to be harmed," the court observed.
Brazilian company DIS had brought the charges against the footballer, his father, and former presidents of Santos, and Barcelona for colluding and hiding the real cost of the transfer.
DIS argued that the transfer cost was hidden to avoid paying the money the defendants owed for being the partial holder of the player rights.
During the trial, the plaintiff sought a two-year prison term and a $9.8 million fine for Neymar. They also sought a five-year jail term for former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and a $9 million fine for the club.
meanwhile, Barcelona said the transfer cost $60 million (€57.1 million), with $42.6 million (€40 million) paid to N&N, Neymar's parents' company, and $18 million to Santos, of which $7.2 million was given to DIS.
Spanish prosecutors initially said they believed the actual value was at least 83 million euros.
However, in a shocking turn of events, the prosecutors in November dropped all charges against Neymar and other defendants citing there was not enough evidence to show a crime had been committed.
Neymar had a fruitful four seasons at Barcelona where he practically won everything there was to win. In 2017, he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain where he is still a vital cog in the wheel.
Neymar represented theBrazil national team at the ongoing FIFA World Cup where his team crashed out of the quarterfinal stage after losing to Croatia.
(With inputs from agencies)
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