The Barcelona president has insisted that his
predecessor oversaw the entire operation which saw the Brazilian arrive
in controversial fashion
Josep Maria Bartomeu has told a court that former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell oversaw all negotiations which led to an alleged multi-million euro tax evasion.
The current Barca chief insists it was his predecessor who handled everything on behalf of the club in bringing Neymar to Catalunya from Santos.
The operation was initially said to involve a €57.1 million transfer fee but it later emerged that the deal was actually worth nearer €86m, sparking a Spanish state investigation into tax owed on the undeclared portion of the fee.
Rosell stepped down after the revelations in January 2014, but Bartomeu was also suspected of wrongdoing in the transfer and appeared before a Madrid court.
But in his first day of giving evidence on Friday, he insisted that he played no part in any negotiations regarding the Neymar transfer. The 52-year-old pointed to Rosell as the man who was in control of the switch, saying he also had no personal contact during contract talks with the player.
Of his observations on the transfer, Bartomeu told the court: "I gave them an instruction to work with zero risk, but I think we overpaid."
Bartomeu spent a total of more than three hours in the dock, making history as the first serving Barcelona president to stand accused of a crime.
A club statement later added: "President Bartomeu gave all explanations regarding the points on which he was questioned. In particular, he defended the correctness of decisions made on this matter covered by the club’s tax advisors.
"He made it clear that neither he nor the club has ever intended to defraud the treasury at any point."
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