FC Barcelona have issued a statement on their official website today, claiming that the club and its president Josep Maria Bartomeu, have not done any criminal wrongdoing in relation to the transfer of Neymar.
Neymar joined FC Barcelona from Santos in the summer of 2013. The fee according to the club at the time of transfer was 57.1 million but, it subsequently emerged that the real cost of the transfer was around a 86 million.
This discrepancy in the amount has caught the attention of Spanish tax authorities as they have started investigation over a possible case of tax evasion against both, FC Barcelona and its president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Ex-president of FC Barcelona, Sandro Rossell has already resigned from his post to fight the tax evasion case while tax authorities want FC Barcelona to pay the fine of a 22.2 million.
Now, FC Barcelona has released a statement, claiming that the club has not committed any fraud in a transfer of Neymar to the club.
FC Barcelona have issued the following statement in response to the ongoing investigation:
“The board has discussed the tax request for trial and punishment against FC Barcelona, a a its president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and its former president Sandro Rosell, derived from the Neymar case. On this matter, the Board wants to clarify the following precepts:
“Both the club and its president have reiterated their complete innocence of an issue that only has a tax and not criminal aspect to it.
“The president of the club will proceed with his intention to run in the next presidential election despite this ‘great injustice’ and will continue to lead the company with the same level of seriousness, moral conduct and financial control, giving everything to ensure that FC Barcelona remains a benchmark.”