Madrid, Nov 23:The prosecutor at the Spanish tiol Court on
Wednesday asked for a two–year prison sentence for FC Barcelo’s
striker Neymar Junior for corruption in relation to the contracts he
signed with the reigning La Liga football champions between 2011 and
2013.
The prosecutor also asked for a five–year jail term for former
Barcelo president Sandro Rosell for corruption and fraud as well as a
fine of 8.4 million euros (around $9 million) for FC Barcelo, reports
Xinhua. He did, however, drop charges against current Barcelo
President Josep Maria Bartomeu who was Rosell’s vice president when
Neymar was signed. The case came about as the prosecutor believes that
in 2011 Barcelo promised to pay Neymar, who then played for Brazilian
side Santos de Sao Paulo, 40 million euros ($42.2 million) to make sure
he would sign with them when his contract expired and he was a free
agent.
This not only went against global football governing body FIFA’s
rules, but also affected free competition between clubs and means that a
company med DIS, which then owned 40 percent of Neymar’s rights, also
lost out fincially.
DIS had earlier asked for a 5–year prison sentence for Neymar and
8–year terms for Rosell and Bartomeu, while also demanding that Neymar
be forbidden from playing for the length of the trial. Neymar recently
extended his contract with Barcelo until 2021. (IANS)