Neymar misses first day of fraud trial for a preposterous reason

Wealthy people always seem to get certain perks that normal folks don’t. One of them is attending your fraud trial for only half the time. Neymar was due in court on Monday in Barcelona facing fraud and corruption charges over his transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013.

The fraud charges stem from DIS, a Brazilian investment firm, who claim to have had 14 percent ownership of Neymar’s rights and were not paid their allotted percentage when the now 30-year-old moved from Santos to Barcelona.

According to court documents, Barcelona paid £50 million for Neymar and £35 million of that sum was paid to his family. DIS received their stake from the remaining £15 million and not the original amount. The investment firm is seeking five-years imprisonment and a fine of £130 million for Neymar. Spanish prosecutors are reportedly seeking just two-year prison with a £8.6 million fine for the PSG star.

Neymar skips his court date because he ‘was tired’

You’d figure with as much as five-years in jail hovering over your head you’d pay attention to the proceedings, not the case for Neymar, who was given permission to leave due to being ‘tired’. The fatigue stems from his match for PSG on the weekend and a post-match doping test.

Neymar of Brazil in action during the international friendly match between Brazil and Ghana (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Neymar and his parents are on trial along with former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, who is also facing jail time and Barcelona a fine for ‘overlooking’ what was owed to those who had Neymar’s rights at the time.

A DIS lawyer said yesterday: “Neymar’s rights have not been sold to the highest bidder. There were clubs that offered up to 60m euros.”

Neymar’s attorneys responded that “the rules of free competition do not operate since the transfer from one club to another depends on the free will of the player.”