FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell was on Thursday accused by Jordi Cases, "one of Rosell's main opponents on the board," of "misappropriation of funds," according to Urreiztieta & Inda of EL MUNDO. The accusation is related to Barcelona's signing of Neymar, with Cases accusing Rosell of embezzling €40M ($55M) during the transaction. Barcelona "officially" signed Neymar for €57M ($78.2M). Of the €57M, €17.1M ($23.5M) "ended up with Neymar's former club, Brazilian side Santos, and the agencies that own the player's rights." Cases' lawyer, Felipe Izquierdo, stated in the accusation that "Rosell kept the remaining €40M, or allowed others to keep it." In November, Cases requested that "Rosell explain the real price paid for Neymar." After Rosell "responded to the request with silence, Cases has now put the matter in the hands of the judges" (EL MUNDO, 12/9).
ROSELL RESPONDS: AS reported Rosell called Cases' claim a "reckless accusation." Rosell: "I am very calm, I am not worried at all." Rosell did "not want to evaluate whether there was a hidden purpose behind the accusation." Rosell added, "My legal team is working on this" (AS, 12/9).
