Spanish court clears Brazil's Neymar, co-defendants of all charges in fraud case

MADRID : A Spanish court on Tuesday acquitted Brazil soccer star Neymar and other defendants in a fraud and corruption case over his 2013 transfer to Barcelona from Santos after prosecutors had dropped all charges in the high-profile trial, the court said in a statement.

The suit had been brought by Brazilian investment firm DIS, the owner of 40 per cent of the rights to Neymar when he was at Santos. He now plays for Paris Saint-Germain.

DIS argued it had lost out on a cut from the transfer because its true value was understated and sought a five-year jail term for Neymar and a total fine of 149 million euros ($157 million) for the defendants.

In October, prosecutor Luis Garcia Canton asked the Barcelona court to acquit all defendants as there was "not the slightest hint of a crime".

($1 = 0.9498 euros)