The trial of Brazil and PSG superstar Neymar Jr over his move to Barcelona in 2013 is now expected to be concluded on Monday after Spanish prosecutors dropped their fraud charges against Neymar last week.
The eight defendants, including the 30-year-old Neymar and his parents, who handle his business, as well as two former Barça presidents, will be permitted to present closing arguments to the Barcelona court.
Spanish prosecutors had been pursuing a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 10 million euros ($9.9 million) for Neymar, a crucial member of the Brazil team that will travel to Qatar in November for the World Cup.
In an unexpected move, the state prosecutor dropped all accusations against Neymar and the other defendants, claiming there was insufficient proof of a crime’s commission in the court’s records.
However, the trial is still going on because Brazilian investment company DIS, which co-filed the lawsuit, has continued to claim that the parties engaged in fraud and corruption.
The dispute revolves around Neymar’s high-profile move to Barcelona over ten years ago from Santos, the Brazilian club where he first gained international recognition.
At the time of his transfer to Europe, DIS, owned by the owners of a supermarket chain, had a 40 percent stake in Neymar’s sporting rights.
DIS had filed a 2015 complaint in Spain claiming that Neymar, Barcelona and Santos connived to mask the true cost of his transfer thereby defrauding it of its rightful financial interests.
Barcelona stated that the transfer was worth 57.1 million euros, with 40 million euros paid to N&N of which 6.8 million was paid to DIS.
The Spanish prosecutors insisted that the deal was actually worth 83 million euros.
Neymar told the court on October 18 that he did not recall if he participated in the negotiation over his move to Barcelona, and that he only signed part of the document given to him by his father.
Other defendants, including former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell denied any wrongdoing.
