Neymar ordered to make court appearance over Santos-Barca transfer

Barcelona forward Neymar has been ordered to appear in Spain’s national court over allegations of fraud in relation to his transfer from Santos to the Liga champions.

According to reports by the EFE and Europa Press agencies on Wednesday, the Brazil captain has been subpoenaed to testify on February 2, on the same day as his parents.

On February 1, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his predecessor Sandro Rosell will give evidence, while the court has also called Santos directors Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Rodriguez Rivero and Odilo Fliho.

Neymar moved from Santos to Barcelona in 2013 and the court is examining a complaint by Brazilian investment group DIS, which claims it was financially harmed when Barcelona and Neymar allegedly withheld the true value of the transfer.

The complaint made by DIS in June names Neymar, his father, Rosell, Bartomeu and Barcelona as defendants. All parties have denied any wrongdoing.

In January 2014, Barcelona announced on the club’s official website that the transfer fee was €57.1million after Neymar senior authorised them to lift a confidentiality clause.

It was later claimed that the transfer’s total cost was closer to €95m – the vast majority of which was said to be tied up in bonus payments and agency fees paid to the player’s father.

A separate legal case over the value of the Neymar transfer brought by Barcelona club member Jordi Cases contributed to Rosell standing down from his role as president in January 2014.