Ex-Barcelona legal chief distances himself from Neymar case lawyer fee | OneFootball

Former Barcelona legal chief Román Gómez Ponti told a judge he did not set the 1.7 million euros fee paid to lawyer José Ángel González Franco for a tax case settlement linked to Neymar’s signing.

According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, he said the board determined the amount, while he reviewed the invoice, checked the work had been done and ensured it met Barcelona’s bar association criteria. He appeared as an investigated party, represented by Jorge Navarro.

The probe follows a complaint by the Barcelona prosecutor against former president Josep Maria Bartomeu and other ex-directors for alleged dishonest administration over the lawyer’s fees, commissions in Malcom’s transfer and compensation to Club Esportiu Laietà for disruption from Espai Barça works.

Investigators are examining an allegedly irregular four million euros, far below the roughly 30 million flagged by a forensic audit ordered by current president Joan Laporta.

Gómez Ponti said he does not approve payments or set fees, only verifies the purpose of invoices and whether work was completed, including in González Franco’s case. Case documents include an email where he endorsed the billed amount after a difficult negotiation. He maintained he was following instructions.

The contract set the fee at 10% of the 17 million euros Barcelona saved through the court agreement. An insurance broker testified the initial quote to the insurer was much lower than one million euros, before rising. In the end the insurer paid about 200,000 euros plus VAT, with Barcelona covering the remainder.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo

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