The trial involving Neymar, Barcelona, and Brazilian investment firm DIS has begun this week, and the company are pushing for harsh punishments for the Paris Saint-Germain player and ex-Barcelona president Sandro Rosell.
While DIS sits at the center of the investigation, it also includes Neymar, his father and mother, Rosell, Josep Maria Bartomeu, Barcelona, Santos, and former Santos president Odilio Rodriguez.
The case centers around DIS and their claim that Barcelona and Santos hatched a plan to prevent them from receiving the complete financial amount they were entitled to. According to DIS, they owned 40 percent of the player’s rights when he signed with them.
DIS accuses those involved of two felonies. The first is the alleged corruption between private individuals. The two clubs are rumored to have reached an agreement for 40 million euros in exchange for a guarantee from Neymar that he would not entertain any other offers from other clubs.
DIS argues that this could not be done without consulting them as they had a share in his image rights.
The second accusation is one of fraud, where DIS alleges that contracts were fabricated to funnel payments. The first involves a friendly match which was said to have been valued at 4.5 million (a game which was eventually never played) and the other is a preferential option valued at 7.9 million for three players.
DIS understands that these are not realistic contracts and are in fact a disguised transfer payment of which they should also receive a share.
Credit: marca.com
