Brazilian superstar Neymar goes on trial in Spain over alleged irregularities in his transfer to Barcelona nearly a decade ago a month before the World Cup begins in Qatar.<\/p>\n
After a legal saga spanning numerous years over his 2013 transfer from the Brazilian club Santos, the trial kicks off in Barcelona on Monday with the 30-year-old star and his parents \u2013 whose company manages his affairs \u2013 as co-defendants with all three facing charges of business corruption.<\/p>\n
DIS, a Brazilian company that owned 40 percent of the player’s sporting rights when he was at Santos, file a complaint in 2015 that led to investigators beginning a probe on the transaction. Barcelona had at that time said the transfer cost \u20ac57.1 million (RM32.5 million), but prosecutors believe it cost at least \u20ac83 million.<\/p>\n
The Blaugranas club said it paid \u20ac40 million to N&N, a company under the ownership of the Neymar family, and 17.1 million to Santos, of which 6.8 million was given to DIS. However DIS alleges that Neymar, Barcelona and the Brazilian club were in collusion to hide the true cost of the deal.<\/p>\n
Altogether nine defendants are in the dock on corruption-related charges, chief among them being two former Barca presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, and ex-Santos boss Odilio Rodrigues Filho. Rosell and Barcelona FC are facing charges of fraud and corruption, while Filho and Santos are on trial facing accusations of fraud.<\/p>\n
The Paris Saint-Germain forward could face two years in jail and a \u20ac10 million fine if convicted. The trial is scheduled to run until October 31, scarcely three weeks before the World Cup kicks off on November 20. Neymar is due to lead Brazil into their Group G opener against Serbia four days later.<\/p>\n
The Brazilian is expected to make his appearance in court when the trial opens, although his presence has yet to be officially confirmed, and will testify on either October 21 or October 28.<\/p>\n
The second day of court will see Real Madrid president Florentino Perez taking the stand to explain how a 2011 secret pre-contract deal between Barca and Neymar supposedly influenced the market.<\/p>\n
In parallel with the prosecution’s case, DIS \u2015 a sports investment firm owned by Brazilian supermarket chain Sonda \u2015 has filed its own suit, alleging collusion by the defendants to defraud it out of its real share of the deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeymar Junior, with the complicity of his parents and FC Barcelona and its directors at the time, and Santos FC at a later stage, defrauded DIS of its legitimate financial interests,\u201d said its lawyer Paulo Nasser on Thursday.<\/p>\n
DIS is seeking to recover \u20ac35 million as it also claims financial harm from the pre-contract agreement between Neymar and Bar\u00e7a which impeded other clubs from making offers for the player, affecting the value of the transfer fee.<\/p>\n
The 2013 transfer also managed to attract the attention of the Spanish authorities who immediately launched a tax fraud investigation into Barcelona. In 2016, they reached a deal with the club agreeing to pay a \u20ac5.5 million fine to avoid going to trial.<\/p>\n
Neymar’s lawyers insist their client is innocent, saying the \u20ac40 million was a \u201clegal signing bonus which is normal in the football transfer market\u201d.<\/p>\n
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