PSG: Neymar Jr. escapes prison and massive fine

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar Jr. can finally breathe a sigh of relief now that he and a number of other defendants have been cleared of all charges of fraud and corruption in connection with his move to FC Barcelona in 2013 from Brazilian side Santos.

Investment firm DIS sued Neymar, members of his family as well as former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell for what they claim to be an under declaration of the terms of the player's transfer back in 2013.

DIS owned 40% rights to Neymar Jr. at that time, and they believe that the cut they received from the transfer was less than what they were entitled to if the true value of the transaction was disclosed. They are particularly focused on an alleged 40 million euro payment made by Barcelona to Neymar's family in 2011 to ensure first priority when he becomes available for transfer.

DIS believes that corruption was involved because bigger offers were made but the player and his team did not accept the best available offer at that time for some reason.

While such a case is not punishable by law in Brazil, DIS pursued a case in Barcelona where prosecutors had sought prison terms of up to five years for Neymar and the rest of the defendants. DIS was also seeking a fine amounting to 10 million euros (£8.62m) from Neymar's camp and 8.4 million euros (£7.2m) from FC Barcelona.

All charges were trashed by a Spanish court on Friday, and according to Reuters, Neymar's camp will be claiming compensation for costs incurred by their side due to the prosecution's "recklessness, acting in poor faith and for abuse of process."

Furthermore, they reserve the right to claim for damages.

During his testimony during the trial, Neymar said that he had no hand in any of the negotiations and has only signed all the documents that his father has ever asked him to. He also said that playing for Barcelona was always his childhood dream, as if to say that his move was not about the money.

"Knowing his dream to play for Barcelona, we signed that priority agreement with them," said his father. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez confirmed during the trial that Los Blancos made a 45 million euro offer in 2011, and 36m euros in 2013, but Neymar opted to play for the Catalan giants.