Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, 23:37 / Updated on Wednesday, 22 April 2026 23:37
The Spanish Supreme Court upheld his acquittal on appeal Neymar and the former leaders of the club Barcelonawho were being prosecuted for corruption and fraud in connection with the transfer of the Brazilian star to Barca in 2013, reports AFP, quoted by Agerpres.
The file was opened after the complaint of the DIS company, which owned 40% of the player's economic rights since the time he played at Santos. The company paid approximately 850,000 euros for this percentage.
Neymar, acquitted in the trial related to the transfer to Barcelona
The lawsuit concerned the agreement signed between Barcelona and Neymar, which provided for the transfer in 2014, at the end of the contract with Santos. However, the Spanish club decided to speed up the move and transferred him in 2013, paying a sum of which DIS received its share.
The Brazilian company claimed that the initial deals were made to diminish its earnings. However, the court dismissed the charges and determined that there was no crime. The judges considered that the early move was a sporting decision by the club, who wanted to secure the transfer.
The ruling makes a clear distinction between economic and federal rights. DIS held only the economic rights, not the federation rights, essential for the transfer of a player under contract.
In total, the company collected 6.84 million euros, which is 40% of the amount of 16.1 million paid for the transfer.
The court also established that negotiations with players under contract do not fall within the criminal sphere, but belong to the sports regulations of FIFA and UEFA. There is no evidence of fraudulent intent or contractual sham.
The judges emphasized that a possible breach of contract does not automatically constitute a criminal offence. In this case, the existence of an intention to harm the DIS company at the time of signing the agreements was not demonstrated.
