Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar on Dec 13 has set free by a Spanish court in the process in which he was accused of irregularities in the transfer to FC Barcelona in 2013, after the Spanish Public Ministry dropped the allegations.
The judges of the Barcelona regional court decided to “absolve” Neymar, and eight other defendants in the same process, considering that there was no evidence of wrongdoing, and, therefore, “damage to the plaintiffs”.
But his parents, former FC Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, a former Santos manager, Odilio Rodrigues, and the player’s career management company, were among those accused.
The decision comes a month and a half after the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office dropped all charges of corruption and fraud against Neymar, for alleged irregularities surrounding the transfer of the Brazilian footballer to FC Barcelona in 2013, considering them presumptions “no evidence”.
The 30-year-old Brazilian striker, who now plays for Paris Saint-Germain, was facing a court for alleged corruption and fraud in his transfer from Santos to FC Barcelona in 2013, as well as his father and manager, Neymar da Silva.
The Public Ministry then withdrew “the allegations against all the defendants and for all the facts” of which they were accused, after initially asking for two years in prison and a fine of 10 million euros against the Brazilian footballer.
Prosecutor Luis Garcia’s justification for this decision is that the allegations “were not based on evidence”, but “on presumptions” and that the case fell under civil rather than criminal justice.
The case was triggered by a complaint from DIS, which owned 40% of Neymar’s rights when he played for Santos, and which took him to court in June 2015, alleging that the player, his family and Santos had hidden the real value of the transfer, to the detriment of that company.
DIS initially asked for a five-year prison sentence for Neymar and compensation of 35 million euros, but, after the MP’s withdrawal of charges in October, decided to reduce the demand to two and a half years.
