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Neymar to stand trial on fraud & corruption charges

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Brazil and PSG star, Neymar will stand trial for fraud and corruption relating to his 2013 move from from Santos to Barcelona.

The complainants are Brazilian investment group DIS, who at the time of the transfer owned a percentage of the player’s transfer rights.

DIS allege that they received less money than they were entitled to due to parties involved in the deal concealing its true value.

Both of Neymar’s parents, former Santos manager Odilio Rodrigues, as well as Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu – who were then president and vice president at Barcelona – are also defendants in the trial.

Previously, investigations were carried out in Brazil and Spain to determine whether any part of the transfer fee had been concealed.

Neymar denied wrongdoing in 2017, but this was rejected by the Spanish High Court, and the case will now go to trial. Proceedings will run from 17 to 31 October later this year.

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On the pitch, Neymar has been linked with a move away from Paris Saint-Germain, who he joined back in 2018 from Barça.

However, despite this speculation, no concrete interest has emerged in him this summer.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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