Madrid: A Spanish court Wednesday launched a fraud investigation against Barcelona striker Neymar, a judicial source said, dragging the Brazilian star into a case in which the club's president faces trial.
The National Court admitted a lawsuit alleging "corruption and swindling" by the star player, his father and his former club Santos linked to the signing of Neymar by Barca in 2013.
The case has been brought by a Brazilian investment fund, DIS, which owned part of the transfer rights for the player when he was at Santos, the source told AFP.
The 23-year-old helped Barcelona to a stunning triple of Spanish league, cup and Champions League this season, scoring in the final of the latter against Juventus.
He was to captain Brazil on Wednesday against Colombia in the Copa America tournament in Chile, hours after news of the investigation emerged.
DIS received 6.8 million euros ($7.7 million) out of the total 17.1 million that Barca paid to Santos, but claims it may also be due a share of the overall transfer payments.
It accuses Barca of signing a deal with the player that unfairly excluded other clubs and of hiding the true cost of the transfer.
AFP
