Neymar Jr’s mega-money move to PSG in 2017 raised a few eyebrows. PSG activated the Brazilian’s release clause of a whopping €222 million to make him the most expensive player in the history of the sport, a record that will stand for many years to come because no one club will be willing to pay that much for a player again—not even PSG.
All parties involved in the deal have gone through one kind of investigation or another. It’s the French Ministry of Finance that’s under investigation now for alleged tax fraud involving Neymar Jr.’s historic deal from Barcelona to the French giants.
French Ministry searched for speculated tax fraud involving Neymar Jr’s PSG transfer
PSG shocked the entire soccer world when they decided to activate Neymar Jr.’s outlandish release clause of €222 million. Even Barcelona couldn’t believe they were getting their hands on such money for a single player, and they didn’t think twice before urging Neymar to commence contractual discussions with the French giants.
Everyone, including Neymar’s agent and father, cashed in big from that transfer. Neymar Sr. reportedly made more than €20 million on the deal. Barcelona have gone under the radar for the transfer, as authorities thought the deal was done in violation of the Financial Fair Play rules.
With both clubs cleared, it’s the French Ministry of Finance that’s now under investigation for tax fraud. “The French Ministry of Finance was raided on Monday as part of the investigation into the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to PSG, which amounted to €222 million in 2017,” reported Transfer News Live.
“The operations were carried out by the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Tax Fraud,” the account concluded.
Neymar Jr has since left PSG to play in Saudi Arabia in another undisclosed mega-money deal, which made the Brazilian one of the highest-paid players on the planet.
Details on Neymar’s transfer from Barcelona to PSG
When news first broke of PSG’s interest in Neymar Jr., nobody thought they would throw a lot of money around for the Brazilian. Although the MSN member was in his prime and had just won a treble two years prior, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were the only players who could command such transfer fees at the time.
The soccer world was sent into a frenzy when Barcelona announced they had received information from PSG through Neymar’s father to activate the player’s release clause of €222 million. Prior to that time, Paul Pogba held the record as the most expensive player in history, as Manchester United paid €105 million for the Frenchman a year prior.
Reports also broke out that Neymar Jr. wanted to join the French giants to step out of Lionel Messi’s shadow and claim all the glory for himself, even if it meant going against his father’s wish, who wanted him to stay at Barcelona.
Neymar agreed to a huge €30 million yearly net salary and became one of the highest-paid players in the world.
Would you have liked Neymar to stay at Barcelona?
