Brazilian superstar Neymar is another Barcelona player who could leave La Liga to seek refuge from the tax evasion charges brought up against him by the Brazil courts.
This is according to the player’s father, who admitted that the 23-year-old Selecao captain may refuse a contract renewal at Camp Nou if the “attacks” on his son from Spain and back home fail to cease.
These threatening remarks come after the former Santos ace saw £31.3m worth of his assets frozen over allegations that he evaded Brazil taxes worth £10.5m from 2011 to 2013.
Speaking to Cadena SER, the player's father said: "We are talking about renewal but we are need to solve some things.
“We need to know if Spain accepts our situation. It's hard for us because we are receiving many attacks, from Brazil and from Spain. Neymar is a star and works his image here and from Brazil.
"We're talking to everyone to know what to do with this matter because we don't want to be in Spain two, three, four, five or ten years and then we are caught by surprise by saying that our structure is wrong. We need to know if things are right for us.
"We must do the right things and know if Spain let us work. We need to stop these investigations. We want the peace of mind. His image is not associated with his job. His image is part of a company in Brazil, which has existed since 2006. It is not now that we've taken advantage of his image. For years we've been working with this company. I do not want to talk about persecution but if we don't have a comfortable situation to work we cannot stay in Spain.
"We never had such big fiscal problems in Brazil. After arriving Spain the attacks began and the attacks have now spread to Brazil. We will respect the contract he has with the club but we don't want a renewal without peace of mind.”
With Neymar’s current contract expiring in 2018, talks over a new deal are ongoing with the Blaugrana board. However, these remarks by the player’s father will put the Catalan giants on alert, especially with Manchester United showing concrete interest in the Brazilian attacker.
The Red Devils made contact with Neymar over the summer in attempt to sign the Brazilian
The Barcelona number 11 is not the only Camp Nou star facing tax evasion allegations. Argentine midfielder/defender Javier Mascherano was charged with tax evasion by the Spanish authorities.
However, the most high-profile Blaugrana player battling tax evasion allegations is Lionel Messi, who is accused of filing false returns in order to defraud the government of €4m.
Both the Argentine attacker and his father have denied the accusations, with the four-time Ballon d’Or winner now heavily tipped with an English Premier League transfer in order to escape his legal issues.
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