Internet Desk: Spain’s public prosecutor has recommended a two year jail term for Barcelona star player Neymar for his alleged part in a corruption case over his transfer from Brazilian club Santos to the Catalans in 2013, said a court filing on Wednesday.
Neymar is now with the Barcelona team that will take on Celtic in a crucial Champions League encounter at Glasgow on Wednesday night.
Judge Jose Perals also called for a five-year sentence for former Barca president Sandro Rosell and a fine of €8.4 million for the club. The charges against current Barca president Joseph Maria Bartomeu were dropped.
The case stems from a complaint by Brazilian investment group DIS, which owned 40 percent of Brazil forward Neymar’s transfer rights and which alleges it received less money than it was entitled to as Barca concealed the real transfer fee.
The Spanish giants have been entangled in controversy over Neymar’s transfer since 2013. Rosell, who resigned as the club’s president in 2014 for his role in the affair and testified in court in February alongside Bartomeu, Neymar and Neymar’s father.
The club struck a deal with prosecutors in June to settle a separate case and paid a 5.5 million euro ($6.2 million) fine and avoided trial on charges of tax evasion over the transfer.
Barca thought they had brought the affair to a close when Judge Jose de la Mata archived the case in June, although Spain’s public prosecutor successfully overturned the ruling in September, allowing the case to proceed.