Real offered £117m for Neymar, father tells court

A Spanish court investigating alleged tax fraud in Neymar’s signing by Barcelona was told by the player’s father that they rejected a much higher offer from Real Madrid.
Barcelona initially said the signing of the 22-year-old player from Brazilian side, Santos, in May 2012 cost them £44.5 million.
But after questions were raised about the deal by a Barcelona club member, the club in January revealed the deal was worth £67.2 million euros, including the player’s signing bonus, commission, marketing deals and other agreements.
The club member, Jordi Cases, accused former Barcelona President, Sandro Rossell, of misappropriation for not declaring publicly that £31 million euros of the initial figure quoted by Barcelona was paid to N&N, a company controlled by Neymar’s parents.
As a result, Barcelona were indicted in February for tax fraud.
During questioning at Madrid’s National Court on Wednesday, the player’s father, Neymar Da Silva Santos Sr, said Real offered £117 million for his son but the player preferred Barcelona’s offer because the Catalan side had a greater “international projection”, a court source said.
Neymar’s father also told the court that his son’s contracts with Barcelona were all legal, the source added.
Whilst giving testimony in July, Rosell told the court that all contracts related to Neymar’s signing “were done perfectly” and respected the law.
Rossell stepped down in January over the affair.
In April, the Spanish league said it believed there was nothing irregular about the Neymar signing.
Earlier this year, Barcelona made a voluntary tax payment of £10.5 million to normalise the situation and avoid the club’s name being further tarnished.
Neymar is back to full fitness after missing the World Cup semi-final and third-place playoff in his home country with a serious back injury picked up in the quarter-final victory over Colombia.
He made an excellent start to the 2014-15 season with the Catalan side, scoring six goals in five La Liga appearances this season.