Neymar's Agent Urges Client to Put Money in Tax Havens, Play for Real Madrid

Neymar's agent, Wagner Ribeiro, took to Instagram to advise his client to put his money in tax havens and eventually move to Real Madrid to close out his career after the Barcelona superstar had his assets frozen by a Brazilian court last week, according to ESPN FC.

Ribeiro wrote the following:      

"

Take your money, send everything to tax havens, legally, of course. This way you will stop paying taxes in Brazil! Close your businesses, the Institute of Praia Grande, and go enjoy your life on Mediterranean beaches. You and your family. 

But leave Neymar to play a few more years ... and end his career in Europe, preferably at Real Madrid.

"

He added: 

"

In Brazil, when the poor become rich they have to be dumb. Do you know 'You leave the slums, but the slums don't leave you?' This has intrinsic meaning for the parts of society accustomed to 'always win.'

They want you to continue being a 'slum kid.' But you are stubborn like your father. He planned [Neymar's] career on the pitch and publicity-wise, built businesses for it. Everything within the law and that was his mistake. All the money earned is 'nationalised and stamped' when it enters the country.

"

Neymar, 23, has been accused of evading Brazilian taxes from 2011-13, and both his father and several companies the pair own have also seen their assets frozen in the case, per ESPN FC. The judge in the case froze three times the amount of assets allegedly owed to prevent the superstar from selling them to cover any eventual fines or interest payments, according to Shasta Darlington of CNN.      

Neymar isn't the only Barcelona player facing legal trouble this week, as Javier Mascherano has been charged with tax fraud by the Spanish government, according to Reuters (via the Guardian).

Ribeiro's advice for Neymar to end his career at Real Madrid won't be met well by Barca fans, of course, as Barcelona and Real Madrid are bitter rivals. While Ribeiro's defense of his client wasn't surprising, that bit of advice is unlikely to endear him or Neymar to the Barcelona supporters.

Neymar is having a strong start to the season for the club, scoring three goals in his first five La Liga matches this season.