Reports in several Spanish media this afternoon suggest that Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell, will resign after the Blaugrana chief was to be called to a high court hearing over the Neymar deal.
Rosell had to answer questions over allegations of ‘misapporpriation of funds’ and it has been alleged that he has profited personally from Neymar’s move from Santos to Camp Nou.
Several sources, including Barcelona-based Mundo Deportivo, claim that the president will step down later today since a special board meeting has been called for 18h00 CET.
Just two days ago, Rosell had reaffirmed the media that the cost of Neymar’s move to the Catalan’s was only €57.1m and not the alleged overall deal worth €95m, which would make Neymar the most expensive footballer in the world.
“I want to state again that the transfer cost was 57 million and that’s it,” Rosell said on Tuesday.
“There is nothing to cover up, it was all perfectly above board and completely legal”.
The Madrid-based newspaper, El Mundo, however, reported that the full breakdown of the alleged €95m fee includes €40m to the Neymar family, €17m to Santos, €7.9m for rights to three further young Santos players, €9m for two friendly games between the clubs, €8.5 in commission to Neymar senior, €2.6 in other agents’ fees and a signing-on bonus of €10m.
Soccer Laduma will keep you updated on any developments in this matter.
