Soccer-Spanish prosecutor drops fraud charges against Neymar, others

BARCELONA -Spanish prosecutors on Friday dropped all fraud and corruption charges against Brazil forward Neymar and other defendants in a case over his transfer to Barcelona from Santos in 2013, the public prosecutor told a court.

Prosecutors had sought a two-year prison term for Neymar and the payment of a 10 million euros ($9.95 million) fine in the case brought by Brazilian investment firm DIS, which owned 40 per cent of the rights to Neymar when he was at Santos.

DIS argues that it lost out on its rightful cut from the transfer because the true value was understated.

"There is not the slightest hint of crime," prosecutor Luis Garcia Canton said after all defendants had testified in the trial in Barcelona, asking the judge for the "acquittal of all defendants".

The prosecution had also sought a five-year jail term for former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and an 8.4 million-euro fine for Barcelona.

At the start of the trial, DIS said it was demanding a five-year jail term for Neymar, and a total fine of 149 million euros fine for the defendants.

A source close to the Neymar family told Reuters that their legal representatives Baker Mckenzie would claim costs against the private prosecution for what they consider recklessness, acting in poor faith and for abuse of process.

They will also reserve the right to claim for damages.