They remember that he was not obliged to accept the best offer because “it is up to the player’s free will” to choose a club
BARCELONA, 20 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Two former FIFA lawyers have assured this Thursday in the trial for the ‘Neymar 2 case’ that the contracts that the player and FC Barcelona signed in 2011 to agree on his signing for 2014 did not breach the regulations of the institution for which they worked.
Swiss lawyers Gianpalo Monteneri and Marc Cavaliero have appeared as experts in the trial that has been going on since Monday at the Barcelona Court for alleged fraud and corruption between individuals in the transfer of Neymar to Barça from Santos FC.
Monteneri and Cavaliero have presented their reports, which refer to the transfer bonus of 40 million euros that Barça gave to Neymar in 2011 for his transfer scheduled for 2014 -it was finally brought forward to 2013- and also to the advance of 10 of those 40 million, which the Blaugrana club gave the player already in 2011 in the form of a loan.
In terms of transfers, FIFA regulations stipulate that, if a club wants to sign a player, it must notify his current club before starting negotiations with him – except if he has less than six months left on his contract -, and the accusations question whether the contract fulfilled this point because Santos FC has assured that it was unaware of the agreement that Neymar and Barça closed in 2011, when the striker was still playing in Brazil.
However, former FIFA lawyers have recalled that Santos FC had sent a letter to Neymar in which they gave him permission to look for another club and they consider that this allowed Barça to negotiate with him without notifying Santos beforehand, under the same conditions than if his contract were less than half a year away.
To questions from the defense of Neymar’s father, who has proposed the expert test that has been done this Thursday morning, the lawyers have remarked that the regulations do not prohibit the players from receiving an advance payment for their signing and that they are not obliged to accept the largest offer, but rather, in the words of Monteneri, “it is up to the free will of the player to decide which club he is going to sign for”.
The two experts in sports law have agreed that the loan of 10 million, as an advance, did not breach the FIFA code of ethics either, because in its 2009 version – the one in force in 2011 – it only prohibited accepting or offering gifts the managers, but not the players.
Another questioned aspect about the contracts is whether or not they comply with the premise established in the FIFA regulations according to which third parties cannot influence “labor matters and transfers related to the independence, politics or performance of the club’s teams.” club”, and the lawyers have said that Santos was sanctioned for failing to comply.
In this trial, Neymar faces a request for five years in prison for alleged fraud and corruption, and his parents, the former Blaugrana presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, the former vice president of Santos Odilio Rodrigues and the two clubs are also accused as persons legal.
