Barcelona bosses no longer defendants in Neymar case - club

Barcelona claimed Thursday that current president Josep Maria Bartomeu and predecessor Sandro Rosell were no longer defendants in the fraud case involving the 2013 purchase of Brazilian star Neymar. In a statement released on the Spanish champions website, the club said an appeal had been won and that if a fresh case was opened at the Barcelona court, new evidence would have to be presented. Brazilian investment group DIS owned 40 percent of Neymar's sporting rights before his move to the Catalan giants from Santos in 2013. Neymar, his father, Bartomeu and Rosell had all been called to testify by Spain's highest court over a complaint for fraud and corruption brought by DIS. The deal was originally valued at 57.1 million euros ($62.1 million) by Barca, 40 million of which was paid to the N&N company owned by the player's father, with Santos receiving just 17.1 million. However, Spanish judicial authorities have estimated the number of simultaneous deals in the transfer amounted to at least 83.3 million. "Now the parties must rephrase the accusations," said a club statement on Thursday.