Neymar has no memory of taking part in Barca talks

BARCELONA - Brazil star Neymar said on Tuesday his manager father always handled his contracts as he took the stand at his trial in Spain over alleged irregularities in his transfer to Barcelona in 2013.

"My father has always been in charge of contract negotiations," the 30-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward told the Barcelona court hearing the case.

"I sign what he tells me to."

He also said he did not remember if he took part in the negotiations which led to an agreement sealed in 2011 with Barca over his transfer two years later to the Catalan side from Brazilian club Santos.

Spanish prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison term for Neymar and the payment of a €10 million (S$14 million) fine.

The trial is the culmination of a year-long legal saga. Neymar is one of nine defendants on corruption-related charges, among them his parents and their N&N company, which manages his affairs. Among the other defendants are two former Barca presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, and Odilio Rodrigues Filho, who was previously the head of Santos.

Neymar had originally been set to testify on either Oct 21 or 28 but the Barcelona court agreed to bring forward his hearing to avoid a clash with his commitments with PSG. He spent two hours at the court on Monday on the opening day of the trial before he was excused by the judge after his lawyers argued he needed to rest after playing on Sunday night.

Investigators began probing the transfer after a 2015 complaint filed by DIS, a Brazilian company that owned 40 per cent of the player's sporting rights when he was at Santos.

Barcelona said the transfer cost €57.1 million, but prosecutors believe it was at least €83 million.

The club said they paid €40 million to N&N and €17.1 million to Santos, of which €6.8 million was given to DIS. But DIS alleges that Neymar, Barcelona and the Brazilian club colluded to mask the true cost of the deal.

DIS is seeking to recover €35 million. The company's lawyer Paulo Nasser said on Thursday that Neymar had "with the complicity of his parents and FC Barcelona and its directors at the time, and Santos FC at a later stage, defrauded DIS of its legitimate financial interests".

The Brazil star's lawyers insist their client is innocent, saying the €40 million was a "legal signing bonus which is normal in the football transfer market". They have also said Spanish authorities lack jurisdiction to hear the case since the transfer involved Brazilian nationals in Brazil.

The trial is due to end on Oct 31.

Neymar's abrupt departure for PSG five years ago sparked a string of legal disputes, with Barcelona withholding its contract extension bonus and suing the player for breach of contract, as Neymar countersued. Both sides eventually reached an "amicable" out-of-court settlement in 2021.

AFP