Barcelona forward, Brazil captain and global Football superstar Neymar has found himself in the spotlight once again and not for a good reason. The Brazilian forward’s former club Santos has asked FIFA to take disciplinary action towards him and hand him a six month ban for what they believe is a breach of contract; the club are also believed to be after a fee of €55 million (£40.8 million). The controversy stems back to Neymar’s transferfrom Santos to Barcelona in 2013 and the Brazilian club state that they feel betrayed by the forward’s actions.
However, Neymar insists that he’s not guilty of any wrong doing and talked to Barcelona once he reached an agreement with the club.
Earlier this year, Santos claimed that they were ready to take legal action against Neymar and Barcelona in regards to the true transfer fee which is said to be around €86.2 million (£64.1 million). The Brazilian club only received €17.1 million (£12.7 million)from the transfer, and believe that they should receive a higher fee as they were misled about the details. There are a lot of issues surrounding the deal between the two clubs and all of the parties involved, with a supposed tax fraud being linked.
Recently, Neymar had a total of €42 million (£31.2 million) in assets frozen as it was revealed that between 2011 and 2013 he was found to be avoiding his taxes.
The footballer has managed to find himself in the news for a host of reasons, ranging from bad behaviour to dodgy deals. As of yet, it is unknown if FIFA plans to take action against Neymar for the deal, and it will take some time given the fact that FIFAisalso under intense scrutiny.
The off-pitch trouble hasn’t stopped Neymar from producing the form that’s made him regarded as one of the best players in football today.
After a rough first season in Catalonia, Neymar managed to score 39 times in 51 appearances last season with 10 of those goals coming in the UEFA Champions League to make him the competition’s top scorer, alongside Lionel Messiand Cristiano Ronaldo. He played a vital role in the team last season, teaming up with Messi and Luis Suarez to score a record 122 goals and help the catalan side to the treble.