A Spanish court "has dismissed a fraud and corruption case" against Neymar and his father, according to the BBC. The case had been brought by the Brazilian investment fund DIS, "which formerly owned the transfer rights to the 24-year-old forward." The company claimed it was "short-changed" when Neymar transferred from Brasileiro club Santos to Barcelona in '13. Neymar and his father, who acts as his agent, "have both denied any wrongdoing" (BBC, 7/8). The AP reported DIS was entitled to 40% of Neymar's transfer from Santos in '13, "but it claimed it received a smaller compensation than it should have because part of the transfer fee was concealed." The Brazilian's transfer was originally valued at £44.7M by Barcelona, £31M of which was paid to a company owned by his father, with Santos receiving just £13.4M. However, Spanish authorities valued the deal closer to £65M -- forcing Barcelona to pay a £4.3M fine in June "in order to avoid the club facing trial on tax evasion charges." The dismissal of the case against Neymar "will come as welcome relief to Barcelona," which has been embroiled in "a number of financial scandals in recent months" (AP, 7/8).
