What began as a €17.1m transfer deal is on its way to becoming the most expensive deal in the history of the game.

Right now, if we total up everything that has already been paid and everything the club will have to pay if the prosecutors get their way, the deal will top €158m.

The amount has risen slowly over time. The club was quick to reveal the €40m it paid Neymar's father in damages for being unable to purchase his rights. Barça said €57m and the club has not budged from there.

However, further investigations have uncovered records which the club had hidden. Contracts signed with the player's father's companies for suspicious services came to light, as well as an even more suspicious agreement with Santos for the right to first refusal on three players.

The club had no choice but to admit these contracts and that the numbers involved in the deal, beyond the transfer fee, were greater than initially stated. Then Spain's tax authorities intervened and forced the club to pay €13.5m, another unexpected payment. The cost just kept going up.

Now the prosecutors are involved. If they get their way, the operation will pass the €158m mark, three times more than the club initially admitted, making it by far the most expensive signing in footballing history.