Brazil forward, Neymar, will stand trial next week on fraud and corruption charges over his transfer to Barcelona from Santos in 2013 and the complainant, Brazilian investment firm DIS, said on Thursday it was demanding a five-year jail term.
Along with Neymar, the defendants in the trial being brought by Spanish prosecutors, which begins in Barcelona on Monday, are his parents, the two clubs, former Barca presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and former Santos president Odilio Rodrigues.
The case stems from a complaint by DIS, a Brazilian company that owned 40% of the rights to Neymar when he was at Santos. It argues it lost out on its rightful cut from the transfer because the true value of the deal was understated.
Neymar, who is a key member of the Brazil team that will be heading to the World Cup in Qatar next month, has denied the allegations but lost an appeal in Spain’s High Court in 2017, which paved the way for the trial.
Baker McKenzie, who will be defending Neymar and his family in the trial, told Reuters they will argue that the Spanish courts “lack jurisdiction to prosecute the Neymar family” since the transfer involved Brazilian nationals in Brazil.
Spanish prosecutors want a two-year prison term for Neymar and the payment of a €10 million ($9.78 million) fine plus a five-year jail term for Rosell and an €8.4m fine for Barcelona.
DIS is also requesting jail terms for Rosell and Bartomeu, and a total fine of €149m fine for the defendants.