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Neymar fined €45 million over Brazil tax fraud
First he had property seized worth millions. Now this? Yikes.
David Ramos/Getty Images
While Neymar's season is going wonderfully on the pitch, things off it are not going so well. He's been dealing with tax issues basically ever since he signed with Barcelona, a deal that raised eyebrows at the time and which has only grown more controversial since. Now it's gotten worse, as a Brazilian court has fined him nearly 200 million Brazilian reals, an amount worth a little over €45 million, or over $51 million.
The ruling comes a year after Brazilian courts froze assets belonging to Neymar worth roughly the same amount, and just recently Brazilian authorities seized assets and property of Neymar’s worth tens of millions. He’s also dealing with charges in Spain relating to his transfer to Barcelona, which he testified in court over earlier this year.
Sometimes, the life of a highly paid superstar is fantastic. Others? Not so much. Right now, Neymar seems to be going through a not-so-great patch.
In the news
Diego Costa has been left out of the Spain squad for this month’s international matches. (ESPN FC)
Chelsea and Manchester City will be without Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany for awhile thanks to injuries. (Guardian)
David Alaba has re-signed with Bayern Munich until 2021. (BBC)
The rumors around the Italy job are swirling now that Antonio Conte is leaving, but Roma boss Luciano Spalletti says he’s not interested in it. (Football Italia)
Arda Turan is picking up yellow cards at a shockingly high rate with Barcelona. (MARCA)
You should be reading
Phil McNulty thinks that losing to Liverpool in the Europa League has exposed just how bad Manchester United’s identity crisis has gotten. (BBC)
Ian Darke thinks it’s time for Louis Van Gaal to go. (ESPN FC)
Can a truly corporate club be successful and sustainable in modern football? (These Football Times)
What to watch on Friday (click for listings, all times ET)
Bundesliga: Schalke 04 vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (3:30 p.m.): Two of the teams battling for third place in the Bundesliga, whoever wins this match will have a big advantage in that race as the season starts to wind down.
Ligue 1: Olympique Marseille vs. Rennes (3:30 p.m.): Rennes still have a chance to finish in the Champions League places in Ligue 1, but they need to start racking up wins to give themselves as good a chance as possible.
MLS: New York City FC vs. Orlando City (7 p.m.): Last year’s two expansion teams got to battle once more in the early days of the MLS season, and with how they’ve played so far it’s hard to pick a clear favorite between them.
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