The court has pardoned Brazil forward Neymar JR in a fraud and corruption trial related to the Brazilian’s transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013. Neymar then made a switch from Barcelona to PSG for a fee of around €222m, making him the most expensive player in football history.
The plaintiff, Brazilian company DIS, had accused Neymar, his father, and the former presidents of Santos and Barcelona of having deliberately hidden the cost of his transfer to avoid paying DIS what it was due as the partial holder of his player rights.
According to MARCA Sport, the court said in a statement on Tuesday that “it has not been proven that there was a false contract or that DIS was intended to be harmed.”
The verdict is not a surprise following the decision by Spanish state prosecutors to drop all charges during the trial. That left only the lawyers of DIS to continue arguing their case.
DIS had initially sought a five-year prison sentence for the 30-year-old Neymar. But following the withdrawal of the state prosecutors, DIS’ lawyers reduced their demands to two-and-a-half years of prison time.
Neymar won 8 trophies with Barcelona, before joining Paris Saints German in 2017.
