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Neymar transfer to Barcelona investigated

Full screen Neymar's transfer has been a huge success on the pitch for Barcelona... and a right royal headache off it.

Neymar's signing by Barcelona is being investigated by the Spanish football league, LaLiga, with a case being opened against the Barça board of directors for their handling of the Brazilian's transfer, and in particular the agreements the club reached with prosecutors to pay fines to avoid further legal problems.

Value of Neymar transfer

Barcelona originally claimed the cost of the player was 57.3 million euro, however the club's economic vice-president Susana Monje admitted on 28 July that the transfer cost was 19.3 million euros, and the 40 million euros received by N&N, a company owned by Neymar's father, was in fact salary.

Barcelona paid fine to avoid tax fraud charges

The revised value was reached after the club agreed a deal with prosecutors over the transfer. The Spanish tax authorities had argued that the values used were far too low, and Barcelona eventually agreed to pay a 5.5 million euro fine to avoid prosecution on tax fraud charges. Under this deal former president Sandro Rosell and current president Josep María Bartomeu avoided the risk of prison and considerable fines for being those directly responsible at the club for the way the transfer was structured.

Barcelona asked for more information

Sources at Barcelona and LaLiga have now confirmed, according to Catalunya Radio, that LaLiga is investigating the situation and has asked the club for more information.