Neymar hit with fres fraud charges in Brazil

Sao Paulo Barcelona and Brazils star striker Neymar suffered a fresh legal blow Tuesday when Brazilian prosecutors filed a tax fraud and forgery case against him The 23yearold and his family have denied any wrongdoing over alleged irregularities in his superstar signing for Barcelona in 2013 But hours after he gave testimony in Spain in one case a new front opened up as federal prosecutors in Brazil launched proceedings against him and his fatherNeymar outside a court in Madrid on Tuesday PicAFPInvestigators in both countries suspect Neymars family and the club hid the real value of the deal under which Barcelona signed him from Brazilian side Santos Barcelona valued the transfer at about 57 million euros 62 million but Spanish authorities think it added up to more than 83 million euros Brazils federal prosecution service accused the player full name Neymar da Silva Santos Junior and his father of forging contracts to pay less taxIt made the same accusations against his father and two senior FC Barcelona management figures the clubs current president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his predecessor Sandro Rosell A federal court must now decide whether to admit the charges and put them on trial Last September Brazilian authorities froze 47 million worth of the players assets pending investigations The federal prosecution service said in a statement the charges related to tax evasion and forgery which cost the state millions in lost taxesSelfies at courtWearing jeans and sunglasses Neymar seemed relaxed as he arrived at Spains National Court in Madrid with his father Neymar da Silva Santos who was also called to testify before an investigating judge The player signed an autograph in front of a group of photographers before giving the thumbsup and entering court where he stayed an hour and a half He made no comment when he left but took a multitude of selfies with young supporters Neymar and his father have defended themselves in the mediaBefore saying nonsense that we hid this or hid that they should prove it Neymar told Brazilian TV station Globo on Sunday My father is doing everything to ensure that I can just focus on playing football He handles the books But in the moment when you see someone you love suffering it starts to hurt Bartomeu and Rosell refused to testify when called this week insisting on the account they had given for a previous hearingBarcas legal battlesA representative of Santos told the judge on Monday the club had felt cheated by Neymar and his father after details of the transfer emerged Fatima Cristina Bonassa said during a fivehour testimony that the footballer was an adult at the time of transfer and knew what he was signing The transfer helped Barcelona form one of the worlds most lethal football strike forces along with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and Uruguays Luis SuarezBut the club has faced numerous legal headaches off the field Messi himself has been called to stand trial from May 31 for tax fraud in a separate case Neymars case hasnt affected his performances on the field He helped Barca to a treble title triumph last season Brazils golden boy is now expected to captain his country on home soil at the Rio Olympics in AugustNeymar is perfect said Barcelona coach Luis Enrique commenting on the scandal From zero to one million it affects him at 0000001 percent Enrique said It has nothing to do with football this is an issue that will be resolved as it should be