Neymar Affair: Barcelona agree to pay a fine of €5.5m for tax offense

The board of directors of FC Barcelona (Liga BBVA) validated the agreement between the legal services of the club and the Spanish justice system, which provides that the club takes full responsibility for the tax offense and agrees to pay a fine of €5.5m as part of the transfer of the Brazilian player Neymar from Santos FC (BRA) in 2013, announced the Spanish club on 13/06/2016.

"The agreement involves the recognition by the Club of an error in tax planning for the signing of the player, for the fiscal years 2011 and 2013, when they did not not correctly withhold payments resulting from his incorporation," stated FC Barcelona. The Catalan club had already paid a supplementary tax return of €13.5m in connection with the Neymar Affair, on 24/02/2014.

This agreement ends the legal proceedings against Josep Maria Bartomeu, the Barcelona president, and Sandro Rosell, his predecessor. Spanish justice had suggested sentences of two years and three months in prison for Josep Bartomeu, and seven years imprisonment for Sandro Rosell in March 2015. Following the agreement reached by Barça, the…