Barca president denies tax fraud

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu says the football club did all the right things in signing Brazilian star Neymar and they will fight tax charges.

Barcelona's president backed the signing of Neymar, saying the club had no regrets over how it acquired the Brazil forward despite being charged with tax fraud to the bewilderment of the team's coach.

A Spanish judge charged Barcelona with the crime on Thursday, alleging it swindled the state of 9.1 million euros ($A14 million) through payments to varying companies and false contracts.

The high-profile transfer saga led to club president Sandro Rosell's resignation with the true cost of the deal rising from the initially stated E57.1 million ($A87.5 million) to E86.2 million euros ($A132 million).

"Everything happening around Neymar is not normal," Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said on Friday. "But I'm not surprised by it. I'm already used to just about everything here. I just prefer to focus on the football."

Of the initial transfer fee, Brazilian club Santos received E17.1 million ($A26 million) while Neymar's father, who also goes by Neymar, scored E40 million ($A61 million).

After Rosell's resignation, the club revealed a complex number of further payments that took the deal to its final tally, and which does not include Neymar's salary.

"We did everything according to the letter of the law and we'll go wherever we have to, to explain it," president Josep Bartomeu said in an interview on the Spanish state broadcaster.

"Our contract with Neymar and Santos is totally legal. The negotiations, the transactions, the contracts, everything was done legally and we would do it all again the exact same way."

The court is also investigating a separate complaint made against Rosell, Bartomeu and another Barcelona vice president, Javier Faus, and Neymar's father for misappropriation of funds and document fraud.

The case went to court after club member Jordi Cases, a pharmacist from the town of Olesa near Barcelona, filed a lawsuit requesting details of the transfer fee.


2 min read

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Source: AAP


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