The public prosecutor informed a court on Friday that Spanish prosecutors have dropped all fraud and corruption charges against Brazilian forward Neymar and other suspects related to his 2013 transfer from Santos to Barcelona.
Neymar was targeted by the prosecution, who demanded a 10-million-euro ($8.62-million) fine and a two-year prison sentence.
According to a source close to the legal team defending Neymar, Baker Mckenzie would seek costs from the private prosecution for what they view as negligence, bad faith, and abuse of the legal system. Additionally, they reserve the right to make a damage claim.
Neymar testified last week in court that he did not take part in the negotiations surrounding his nine-year move from Santos to “childhood dream” club Barcelona, only signing what his father had instructed him to.
“I didn’t participate in the negotiations. My father always took care of it and always will. I sign everything he tells me to sign,” Neymar told the court in Barcelona in his first testimony in the trial that began on Monday.
“Playing for Barcelona was always my dream, a childhood dream.”
The case revolved around the claim that Brazilian investment firm DIS, which held 40% of Neymar’s rights while he was playing for Santos in Brazil, was cheated out of receiving its fair share of the transfer fee because the value of the deal was understated.
The alleged crime that Neymar Jr. and his family were charged with also has no legal repercussions in Brazil.
According to a court document made public in July, Barcelona started talks with the player in 2011 and paid him €40 million to ensure his transfer when his deal with Santos expired in 2014. This prevented other teams from signing him at the time.
“Our intention was to prepare a career plan for him in Europe, in which we had in place already established, could learn the language, etc. And knowing his dream to play for Barcelona, we signed that priority agreement with them,” the player’s father, Neymar da Silva Santos, told the court.
Despite having the option to decline, Neymar and his parents chose to testify instead, only taking questions from the prosecutor and their own attorneys.
Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, testified before the court via videolink that his club made Neymar offers of €45 million in 2011 and €36 million in 2013, but the player ultimately decided to join Barcelona.
