Barcelona superstar Neymar has been ordered to appear in front of a judge on February 2, Spain’s national court revealed this Wednesday (as per AP), in order to testify over irregularities involving his Camp Nou transfer.
The Brazilian superstar has found himself in legal hot water ever since sealing his Blaugrana switch back in 2013 from Santos, with a cloud of suspicion still hovering over the somewhat shady deal which brought him to La Liga.
The Catalan giants officially claimed to have paid Santos merely €17.1m in order to land the then 21-year-old’s services, though further investigations in Spain revealed that the Selecao ace cost the Liga BBVA giants nearly €83.3m.
Brazilian investment group DIS, who were entitled to 40% of Neymar’s sale, lodged a complaint – against Barcelona, several of its figures, Neymar, and the player's father – claiming to have been financially damaged by the Spanish heavyweight decision to intentionally withhold the true amount of Neymar’s transfer in order to avoid paying heavy taxes.
The transfer fiasco even led to then Barcelona president Sandro Rosell to step down, with a request to throw out the case from Neymar and other defendants being rejected last year.
Rosell and current Blaugrana president Josep Maria Bartemou will also have to testify a day before, on February 1, with former Peixe presidents Luis Alvaro de Oliveira and Odilio Rodriguez Filho also asked to appear in court.
Sandro Rosell was forced to step down, but is still interwined in the Neymar Barca transfer fiasco
Neymar, one of the three 2015 Ballon d’Or finalists, is also facing another legal battle, this time with the Brazil courts over alleged tax evasion, a case which has seen €42m worth of assets related to the 23-year-old frozen.
The Brazil captain is one of three Barcelona players facing tax evasion charges, alongside Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano, who admitted that he failed to pay €1.5m worth of tax owed in 2011 and 2012.
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