PSG forward Neymar Jr. may face up to five years in prison

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar Jr. will stand trial next week in a case concerning his transfer to FC Barcelona from Brazilian club Santos way back in 2013. Brazilian investment firm DIS has brought forward allegations of corruption against the parties involved in the transfer, and is calling for a five-year jail term for the player.

According to the firm, the transfer was undervalued, leading to losses on their side due to the fact that the company owned a 40% stake in the player at that time. Barcelona claimed that they paid a transfer fee of 57.1m euros, with 40m euros going straight to the player's family. Only 17.1 million euros was paid to the club, with a 40% share of that amount being paid to DIS.

DIS filed fraud and corruption charges against Neymar and his parents, who were in charge of his career at that point. Apart from members of Neymar's family, former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and former Santos president Odilio Rodrigues have also been named as defendants.

Neymar, 30, and his family have consistently denied any wrongdoing, but the case has dragged on after the Spanish High Court decided against dropping the charges in 2017. Now, it is set to go on trial, with Neymar required to appear in a Barcelona court on Monday. It is unclear if he needs to stay for the duration of the trial, which may continue for weeks.

BBC shared a statement from Neymar's lawyer Baker McKenzie, who claims that the Spanish courts "lack jurisdiction to prosecute the Neymar family and their company N&N" because the accused are Brazilian nationals who were doing business outside Spain.

Meanwhile, the alleged crimes are not punishable by law in their native Brazil. The defendants also insist that no FIFA rules have been breached during the transfer.

DIS lawyer Paulo Nasser also spoke about the case, claiming that "there were clubs that offered up to 60m euros," and for some reason Neymar was not sold to the highest bidder.

The firm demands prison sentences for Neymar, along with both Rosell and Bartomeu. They are also demanding financial compensation worth 149m euros. Spanish prosecutors are pushing for a lower fine of only 10m euros and only a 2-year jail term for the former Barcelona forward. Meanwhile, they are coming down hard on Rosell, whom they want to send to prison for five years. FC Barcelona may also be facing an 8.4m euro fine.