Madrid - Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu pointed the finger at his predecessor on Friday over allegations of tax fraud linked to the signing of Brazilian striker Neymar.
During three hours of questioning in a Spanish court hearing behind closed doors, Bartomeu denied any wrongdoing and said the incidents under investigation took place in 2013 when the football club was headed by Sandro Rosell, judicial sources said.
He told the Madrid court it was Rosell who negotiated and drew up Neymar's multi-million euro contract with Barcelona, the sources added.
Rosell, who is also a suspect in the case, resigned as president over the affair just over a year ago when a complaint brought by one of the club's members for misappropriation of funds was taken to court.
Bartomeu, who was vice-president of the Catalan club at the time, replaced Rosell as president in January 2014.
Judge Pablo Ruz at the National Court charged Bartomeu last week with tax fraud and ordered him to appear in court over alleged tax evasion worth 2.85 million euros ($3.26 million).
Spanish public prosecutors called for Bartomeu and the club as a whole to be tried on the tax fraud allegations relating to Neymar's transfer from Brazilian club Santos in 2013.
They allege the club and Rosell paid more for Neymar than the 57 million euros that they declared to the Spanish taxman.
Prosecutors believe the figure was 82.7 million euros divided into separate contracts that secured the signing.
AFP
