Barcelona have paid €13.55 million to Spanish authorities after being charged with tax fraud in the signing of Neymar last summer, but the club maintains that they are innocent. They called it the "complimentary" amount.
Barcelona pay tax for Neymar transfer
The controversial transfer of Neymar continues to be a problem for Barcelona.
David Ramos
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At least check, Barcelona weren’t a charity interested in handing out money so why they would pay if they were innocent is perplexing, to say the least. The club contends that it was to cover any difference in interpretation.
The payment was “to cover eventual interpretations that could come out of the contracts signed relating to the transfer of Neymar. Meanwhile we are convinced of the legality of our initial fulfilment relating to our tax obligations,” Barcelona said in a statement after an emergency board meeting on Sunday.
The alleged fraud has already led to the resignation of Sandro Rosell as president and he is also under investigation by the same court that has charged the club. Current president Josep Mario Bartomeu, financial vice-president Javier Faus and Neymar’s father have also been implicated by the court.
Spanish prosecutors have said that they have evidence that the club falsified documents from the transfer and the judge agreed that there was enough to charge Barcelona. The club was then ordered to turn over to the court all documents and contracts from the transfer.
Whether the voluntary payment by Barcelona is enough to the ease concerns of Spanish authorities remains to be seen. At this point, it’s just another question in a saga full of them.
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