After the judge felt sorry for the “weary” player who scored the game-winning goal for PSG against Marseille last night, he granted Neymar permission to miss today’s first day of his corruption trial in Spain.
Maria Masso, the defense attorney for Neymar, said that the Paris Saint-Germain forward had gone to bed early this morning after scoring the game-winning goal against longtime rivals Marseille and undergoing a drug test before flying to Barcelona for the trial.
Jose Manuel del Amo, the chief judge, made the player at the Provincial Court of Barcelona chuckle by allowing him to go after he admitted: “He was scoring a goal and I was in bed.”
He was going about his professional business as I was listening to the radio.
Neymar, 30, departed the courtroom with his mother Nadine Goncalves. He is scheduled to return soon to give a testimony on suspected irregularities in his almost ten-year move to Barcelona.
The trial marks the conclusion of a protracted legal battle over his 2013 departure from Brazilian team Santos.
Nine people are being tried for alleged acts of corruption, including Neymar’s parents and their N&N firm, which handles his business activities. Three people are accused of commercial corruption.
Neymar may be sentenced to two years in prison and pay a 10 million euro (£8.6 million) fine if found guilty.
Following a 2015 complaint from DIS, a Brazilian business that had 40% of the player’s sports rights when he was at Santos, investigators started looking into the 2013 transfer.
Barcelona claims the move cost 57.1 million euros (£49.4 million), but the cost was at least 83 million euros (£71.8 million), according to the prosecution.
The club claimed to have provided N&N and Santos a total of 40 million euros (£34.6 million) and 17.1 million euros (£14.8 million), respectively. Of those amounts, 6.8 million euros (£5.8 million) were transferred to DIS.
However, DIS asserts that Neymar, Barcelona, and the Brazilian club conspired to conceal the deal’s full cost.
Two previous Barca presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, as well as the former head of Santos are also defendants.
Despite their being no formal confirmation, Neymar, who is now playing for Paris Saint-Germain, is anticipated to appear in court on the first day.
It is unknown whether he will need to be there in person when he testifies on October 21 or October 28. The trial’s scheduled conclusion is October 31.
Tuesday, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will testify via videoconference to discuss how the market was affected by a covert pre-contract agreement between Barcelona and Neymar in 2011.
According to DIS attorney Paulo Nasser on Thursday, “Neymar Junior, with the collaboration of his parents, FC Barcelona and its management at the time, and Santos FC at a later stage, cheated DIS of its lawful financial interests.”
Recovering 35 million euros (£30.2 million) is what DIS is aiming for.
The 40 million euros (£34.6 million) was a “legitimate signing bonus,” which is typical in the football transfer market, according to Neymar’s attorneys, who maintain their client is innocent.
The player is enjoying one of his greatest seasons since joining PSG in 2017 for a transfer record of 222 million euros (£192.1 million).
At the Parc des Princes in Paris on Sunday, he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win against longtime rivals Marseille. In 11 Ligue 1 games, Neymar has nine goals and seven assists.
However, he seems to have trouble getting along with France’s sensation Kylian Mbappe, who allegedly wants PSG to move the Brazilian.
Neymar is also anticipated to play a significant part for Brazil in the World Cup in Qatar as the South American powerhouses attempt to win the championship for the sixth time overall and for the first time since 2002.
On November 24, he will captain the Selecao in their Group G debut against Serbia.