Neymar's family respond to two-year jail term and €10 million fine for the 24-year-old
Neymar’s father’s firm, NN Consultoria, have responded to the latest attempts by Spanish prosecutors to seek jail term for the Barcelona star, his father and his mother for their role in the transfer of the 24-year-old from Santos to Barcelona.
Neymar signed for the Catalan giants in 2013 for a reported fee of €88.2 million but has since been on the radar of the Spanish legal system for various allegations of corruption. All these problems started when DIS, an investment company who partly-owned the Brazilian superstar’s economic rights, registered a complaint regarding not receiving the amount of money that matched the value of the player they owned – which was around 40% – post his transfer to Spain.
NN Consultaria claim innocence
Three years post the transfer, Spanish prosecutors have finally called for the Brazilian to be put in jail for two years along with a hefty fine of €10 million. His mother and father have also been slapped with fines and jail terms given their role in the whole fiasco.
NN Consultoria have since released a statement following the latest development and have maintained that the striker is innocent and that everything they’ve done was in accordance with the law at the time.
The statement read: "In relation to the news published on Wednesday of the accusations against Neymar Jr. and his father, Neymar da Silva Santos, we reiterate it is the same process reopened in September 2016, which had been filed by Judge Jose de la Mata.
"The parties have not been notified of the opening of the indictment of the Public Ministry or of the period in which the defence may be filed. We remain calm because all contracts were signed with respect to legal, ethical and moral procedures and with the knowledge of Santos … and Barcelona.
"We are sure that time will offer all positive responses."
Unlikely to face jail time
Even though the terms levied are no joke, the Barcelona man is unlikely to face jail time. Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano were both handed a 21-month and a 12-month jail term respectively – for counts of tax evasion – but didn’t need to serve it given they didn’t repeat their actions during the time of their sentence.
The allegations on Neymar are unlikely to affect his relationship with the club and his situation as a professional footballer. He’s begun the current season in an exceptional run of form scoring six goals and assisting a further twelve in just fifteen appearances.
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