Barca president Josep Baromeu and club to face trial for alleged tax fraud in Neymar signing

Barcelona president Josep Baromeu, his predecessor Sandro Rosell and the club have been accused of tax fraud in the signing of Brazil forward Neymar by a Spanish judge and face trial for the same.

Bartomeu, Rosell and club are accused of defrauding the tax authorities of around 13 million Euros between 2011 and 2014 by trying to hide the real cost of the deal that landed them Neymar.

Rosell initially said that Neymar had cost 57.1 million Euros but the club later admitted that a host of additional contracts with the player and his father had pushed the value of the deal closer to 100 million Euros, Stuff.co.nz reported.

Finding enough evidence to proceed with a trial on charges of tax fraud and maladministration, Judge Pablo Ruz published court documents on Friday regarding the same.

At a court appearance last month, Bartomeu, who was a vice president under Rosell and involved in negotiating the Neymar transfer, said that neither he nor Barca and its officials had intentionally committed tax fraud.

Meanwhile, Barca coach Luis Enrique revealed that he and his squad were focusing on playing football.

Barca, who lead the La Liga table currently and play at Eibar on Saturday, have a chance of repeating their historic 2009 treble of Spanish league and Cup and Champions League this season. They currently have a one-point advantage over second-placed Real Madrid.

Regarding the tax fraud, Enrique said that what they have control over are the training sessions, adding that everything else is in the hands of the justice system.