Neymar 'Very Sad' After Santos' Appeal to FIFA over Barcelona Transfer

Neymar has expressed his sadness at the decision made by Santos, his former club, to complain to FIFA about his transfer to Barcelona in 2013.

FIFA confirmed it received a claim from the Brazilian outfit last week about the deal, with Santos suggesting they hadn’t been paid the correct amount by the La Liga giants, per Reuters (h/t Football Espana).

Neymar, speaking with beIN Sports (h/t Football Espana), admitted he was disappointed by the process.

“I don’t want to talk about Santos, for me [the matter with them] has passed,” said the Brazil captain. “Of course, I’m very sad, but I won’t talk about them.”

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There were some initial reports Santos had requested their former star be banned from all football for six months, but those suggestions were denied by the Brazilian club, per AS.

According to Sport, Santos are chasing a settlement of circa €55 million (£40 million) after the true value of Neymar’s transfer between the two teams was revealed to be significantly more than initially reported. Sid Lowe of the Guardian writes the transfer fee was claimed to be €57.1 million (then £48.6 million), but Barcelona have since been accused of paying around €80 million (£58.6 million).

According to Alec Fenn of Goal, Santos initially made their intentions clear to sue Neymar, his father and Barcelona in May. It’s reported the Brazilian team only received €17.1 million (£12.5 million) for the sale of their prized asset, but feel as though in light of the transfer’s true value being revealed, they are due more.

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As noted by Lowe in a separate case to the complaint from Santos, current Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his predecessor Sandro Rosell could stand trial over tax fraud as a result of the deal. There are accusations they defrauded the taxman out of €12.7 million (£9.3 million) after failing to accurately report key pecuniary details.

Neymar has become a key member of the Barcelona team since he signed for the club two seasons ago. As we can see here, courtesy of OptaJose, he’s enjoyed a tremendous campaign so far:

Neymar has helped Barcelona to four major honours during his time with the club, including a historic treble of Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League in 2014-15. The Brazilian has grown from a capricious influence into a forward who is keen to take responsibility, as is wholly evident by some of his glittering displays in the absence of Lionel Messi of late.