The Spanish Supreme Court confirmed today the acquittal of footballer Neymar and former FC Barcelona executives on charges of corruption and fraud, ruling that the agreement for the Brazilian player’s 2013 transfer was legitimate. According to the decision, which upholds the previous judgment from the Barcelona Provincial Court, there was no proof of private corruption or contractual fraud in the process of signing the Brazilian international forward from Santos.
The court determined that while the company DIS held 40% of the player’s economic rights, acquired in 2009, it did not hold the federative rights, which allow for transfers between clubs while a contract is in force.
Consequently, the judges concluded that the agreement reached with the Catalan club, which accelerated Neymar’s arrival to 2013, did not constitute any illicit practice and fell within the norms of sports law and international regulations.
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DIS, which received 6.8 million euros—representing 40% of a transfer fee set at 17.1 million euros—claimed it had been the victim of a fraudulent scheme that reduced the real value of the deal to lower their commission. However, the Supreme Court maintains that the contracts were real and were not intended to hide any fraudulent intent.
The court deemed the potential lack of knowledge of the agreement on the part of Santos to be irrelevant, given that all parties involved received their expected payments. In addition to Neymar, the accused included his parents, former FC Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, the player’s management company, and Odílio Rodrigues, a former Santos executive. FC Barcelona reportedly spent over 100 million euros on the operation.
The case was initiated in June 2015, with DIS alleging that the Brazilian international, his family, and Santos had hidden the true value of the transfer to their detriment. DIS had initially requested a five-year prison sentence for Neymar and 35 million euros in compensation, but after the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office withdrew the charges in October, the company decided to reduce its demand to two and a half years.
