Neymar, Barcelona and Santos will stand trial on October 17 on fraud and corruption charges over the transfer of Brazil forward to Barca in 2013, the Brazilian investment group DIS said in a statement on Wednesday.
Neymar’s father, mother and the family company N&N have also been charged in the case, along with former Santos manager Odilio Rodrigues and Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, the then-president and vice-president of Barcelona respectively.
The case stems from a complaint by DIS, which owned part of Neymar’s transfer rights and alleges that it received less money than it was entitled to when Neymar joined Barcelona.
Investigations were carried out in Spain and Brazil into whether any part of the transfer fee had been concealed and the trial, to be held at the Provincial Court of Barcelona, is scheduled to run until Oct. 31.
Neymar has denied wrongdoing but, in 2017, Spain’s High Court rejected appeals by the player, his parents, N&N and the two clubs, paving the way for the case to go to trial.
