Neymar cleared of fraud and corruption charges by Spanish prosecutors

Spanish prosecutors have dropped all fraud and corruption charges against Neymar and other defendants in a case over his transfer to Barcelona from Santos in 2013.

Before being cleared of fraud and corruption charges, Neymar was facing a two-year prison sentence plus a €10m fine for alleged irregularities relating to his transfer to Barcelona in 2013.

The case was taken to court after Brazilian investment group DIS which owned 40 per cent of Neymar’s rights during his time at Santos, claimed that a lot more money was involved in the transfer.

DIS claimed that it lost out on its rightful cut from the transfer because the true value was understated.

The PSG attacker, his parents, and former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rossell and Josep Bartomeu were all defendants in the trial.

At the start of the trial, DIS said it was demanding a five-year jail term for Neymar, and a total fine of €149million fine for the defendants.

Neymar cleared of fraud and corruption charges by Spanish prosecutors

However, after hearing weeks of testimony from several high-profile witnesses, Spanish authorities decided to acquit everyone involved.

“There is no evidence or proof, only allegations. Or at least it hasn’t been demonstrated,” said prosecutor Luis Garcia Canton. “Brazilian civil law and FIFA codes were broken, but not (Spain’s) penal code.”