Madrid tried to sign Neymar in 2011 but the Brazilian “wanted to go to Barcelona”
“The players go where they want and Neymar wanted to go to Barcelona”, Florentino Pérez has sentenced, who has admitted that the sports management of the white team offered 45 million euros to Santos for the footballer in 2011.
“We were interested in him ten years ago or something.. But I know it because of the general sports management of Real Madrid, not because I was important in any type of negotiation”, specified the leader of the Madrid club, who has testified by videoconference.
Minutes before, the former football director of FC Barcelona, Raul Sanllehihad acknowledged having reached an agreement with Santos for Neymar for 45 million plus 10 in variables in the summer of 2011.
“We shook hands on a Friday, but on Monday they called us to tell us that Madrid had offered five million more. We could not accept that, because we had already closed the agreement”, explained Sanllehí.
From there, Barcelona decided to negotiate directly with the player’s father and representative. In November 2011 both parties signed an agreement to incorporate Neymar in 2014 with a penalty clause for breach of contract of 40 million euros.
In 2013, Barcelona agreed to advance the incorporation of Neymar a year and the clause increased to 100 million, which made it unfeasible for Madrid to undertake the signing. Florentino Pérez, however, He said he did not remember if those penalty clauses existed.
Finally, Barcelona paid Santos 17.1 million euros for the transfer of the footballer and another 7.9 million for the purchase option of three young promises of the Brazilian team. In addition to another 60 million for various concepts to N & N Consultoria Esportiva, the family business run by Neymar’s father.
Nevertheless, DIS investment fundwho had 40% of the player’s rights and who exercises the private prosecution in this trial, only received 6.8 million.
They ask for prison for “Ney” and Rossell
In the case known as ‘Neymar 2’the Public Prosecutor requests 5 years in prison and a 10 million euro fine for former FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell for the crimes of corruption in business and fraud in the signing of the Brazilian international, for which he also asks for 2 years in prison and another 10 million fine for a crime of corruption in business.
On the other hand, he exonerates the former president of the Barça entity, Joseph Maria Bartomeuvice president when the events occurred, understanding that, despite signing the allegedly fraudulent contracts to sign the Santos striker, between 2011 and 2013, was not an active part of the negotiations.
In addition to Neymar, Rosell and Bartomeu The player’s father and mother are accused, for whom the prosecution asks for 2 years and 1 year in prisonrespectively, for two separate crimes of corruption in business, and the former director of Santos Odilio Rodrígues, for whom he is asking for three years in prison for the crime of fraud.
Three legal persons are also being tried for their participation in the case: FC Barcelona, Santos FC and N & N Sports Consultingfor which the prosecution requests penalties of fines of 8.4, 7 and 1.44 million eurosrespectively.
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