February 24 – Barcelona’s new president Josep Bartomeu (pictured) insists the transfer of Neymar to the Catalan giants was “completely legal” and that the club is totally innocent of tax fraud.
In the latest twist to a saga that prompted Bartomeu’s predecessor, Sandro Rosell, to step down last month, a Madrid court last week charged the Spanish champions with defrauding the tax authority.
The ruling came after a Barca member initially filed a complaint against Rosell alleging misappropriation of funds.
“We are very comfortable because the contract is completely normal,” Bartomeu said in an interview with Spanish television. “We took advice, ourselves, the player, Santos, and we did everything legally.”
“We now intend to explain the nature of the negotiation and what the contracts are and we will show that they are completely legal. Everything that was done was done correctly. We would do the same again.”
After Rosell stepped down, Barca admitted Neymar had cost €86.2 million ($118 million), including payments to the player and his family, and not €57.1 million as originally stated.
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