Spanish Supreme Court upholds Neymar acquittal in 2013 Barcelona transfer case | OneFootball

Spain's Supreme Court has upheld the acquittal of Neymar and former Barcelona chiefs in the corruption and fraud case over his 2013 move.

According to L'Équipe, the court said the accusation lacked substance, finding no business corruption or improper fraud by the player, his representatives or Barcelona, and that club decisions were driven by sporting priorities to secure his signing earlier.

The sole remaining accuser was Brazilian company DIS, which owned 40% of Neymar's rights at Santos. In 2022, Barcelona's provincial court cleared all defendants of business corruption and fraud via a fictitious contract.

Those tried included Neymar and his parents, ex-presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu, a former Santos official, plus Barcelona, Santos and the family company managing his career.

The case pivoted when prosecutors, who had sought two years in prison and a 10 million euro fine for the former Paris Saint-Germain forward, withdrew all charges.

DIS filed in 2015, alleging Barcelona, Neymar, his family and later Santos hid the true fee and cheated it, and failed to reveal a 2011 exclusivity pact with Barcelona that, it argued, skewed the market.

Barcelona initially put the transfer at 57.1 million euros, 40 million to Neymar's family and 17.1 million to Santos, though Spanish courts later said it cost at least 83 million. DIS received 6.8 million from the 17.1 and sought 35 million in damages. The matter, dubbed Neymar 2, followed Neymar 1, a tax case settled in 2016 with Barcelona paying 5.5 million euros.

Source: L'Équipe