In relation to his 2013 move from Santos to Barcelona, Brazilian football legend Neymar was exonerated of corruption allegations on Tuesday.
All nine defendants in the trial were cleared by a Spanish court.
Along with Neymar, this group also comprised his parents, the ex-presidents of FC Barcelona Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, the ex-president of Santos FC Odilio Rodrigues Filho, and N&N, the firm that Neymar’s parents established to handle his career.
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Because they held 40% of Neymar’s sporting rights at Santos, the Brazilian corporation DIS claimed they lost out financially as a result of his move and felt that the full value of the agreement had been concealed by those involved.
“According to the court it has not been proved there was a false contract or that DIS was intended to be harmed,” said the court in a statement.
Later on Tuesday, DIS announced that they would take the sentence to the Spanish Supreme Court for review.
“DIS laments that the opportunity has been lost to put a stop to some corrupt practises in the world of football that are inconceivable in other areas,” said the company in a statement.
Just one month before the World Cup in Qatar kicked off, Neymar’s high-profile trial began in Barcelona in the middle of October.
Brazil and the 30-year-old, who currently represents French champions Paris Saint-Germain, were eliminated following a quarterfinal penalty shootout with Croatia.
Neymar had initially faced a two-year prison sentence and a $10 million fine, but at the end of October, the prosecution unexpectedly dismissed all counts of corruption and fraud against all the defendants.
In 2015, the Brazilian sports investment company DIS launched a lawsuit, saying that it had been taken advantage of during the player’s move to Barcelona.
It asserted that Neymar, Barcelona, and the Brazilian club conspired to conceal the exact cost of the player’s transfer, defrauding it of its rightful portion of the transfer fee.
Additionally, DIS claimed that it was not made aware of the exclusivity agreement signed by Neymar and Barcelona in 2011.
However, Spanish prosecutors, who at first agreed with DIS, eventually stated that the firm’s claims were not supported by “proof.”
They came to the conclusion that the case belonged in civil court, not criminal.
The case went forward despite the fact that the prosecution dropped its charges since the court was also taking into account a separate indictment brought by DIS in accordance with Spanish law.
DIS was attempting to recoup 35 million euros that it felt it had been defrauded of.
Barca reported that the move cost 57.1 million euros, of which 6.8 million euros were provided to DIS and 40 million euros were paid to N&N and Santos.
At first, Spanish prosecutors claimed they thought the real value was at least 83 million euros.
Neymar said in court that he couldn’t recall whether he participated in the transfer negotiations and that he merely signed the paperwork his father gave him to.
Bartomeu and Rosell, the previous presidents of Barcelona, were among the other accused who all denied wrongdoing.
Initial requests from DIS, a supermarket chain owner in Sao Paulo, Brazil, sought a five-year prison term for Neymar and his father, who serves as the player’s agent.
However, at the conclusion of the trial, it advocated for a reduced prison sentence of four years for Neymar’s father and two and a half years for Neymar, but the defendants were found not guilty.
Neymar, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, joined PSG in 2017 when the Parisian club activated his release clause. The deal cost a record-breaking 222 million euros ($234 million).