NAIROBI, Kenya – Spain’s Supreme Court has upheld the acquittal of Brazilian football star Neymar and former FC Barcelona presidents over corruption allegations tied to his high-profile 2013 transfer, bringing an end to a long-running legal battle.
In its ruling, the court dismissed an appeal by Brazilian investment firm DIS, stating that “the proven facts have revealed the inconsistency of the accusation.”
“There was neither an offence of corruption in business dealings nor improper fraud, neither by the player, his representatives nor FC Barcelona,” the court said.
“It was all due to a sporting decision by the club, which wanted to ensure his signing and then decided to bring it forward.”
The case dates back to 2015, when DIS—then holding 40 percent of Neymar’s sporting rights at Santos—claimed it was short-changed during the transfer, alleging that the true value of the deal had been concealed.
Barcelona had publicly stated the transfer cost €57.1 million (about Sh9.9 billion), with €40 million (Sh6.9 billion) paid to a company owned by Neymar’s family and €17.1 million (Sh3 billion) to Santos, of which €6.8 million (Sh1.2 billion) went to DIS.
DIS had sought to recover €35 million—roughly Sh6 billion—it claimed it lost in the deal.
Despite the scale of the allegations, a Spanish court in 2022 cleared all defendants, including Neymar, his parents, former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as Santos and its former leadership.
Prosecutors had initially pushed for a two-year jail term and a €10 million fine (about Sh1.7 billion) for Neymar, but later dropped all corruption and fraud charges against the accused.
The Brazilian forward—now back at Santos—had also faced a separate tax fraud case linked to the same transfer. That matter was settled in 2016 after Barcelona agreed to pay a €5.5 million fine (approximately Sh950 million) to Spanish authorities.
With the Supreme Court’s decision, one of football’s most scrutinised transfers is now legally settled, closing a chapter that has followed Neymar’s career for over a decade.
