© EuroFootball.com
During the press conference held on Monday evening, the leaders of "Barcelona" once again confirmed that the Catalan club did not commit any wrongdoing by signing Brazilian Neymar in the summer.
The club president Jose Maria Bartomeu and vice presidents Javier Faus and Manel Arroyo presented the main actions of "Barcelona" explaining the current situation to journalists.
Although a case is being reviewed in the highest court in Spain, in which "Barcelona" is accused of not paying €9.1 million in mandatory taxes, the Catalan club also took steps to avoid possible ambiguities. "Barcelona" paid €13.5 million in taxes, which included all contracts made when acquiring Neymar.
"The club did everything legally and legitimately. 'Barcelona' does not owe any taxes to anyone. We have always been advised by the best professionals, so we have nothing to worry about," said J.M. Bartomeu. "I want to say that if Mr. Jordi Cases had not filed a complaint, we would not be sitting here now and we would not have to explain anything."
According to vice president J. Faus, the Catalan club found itself in a bizarre situation when it had to pay taxes twice - in Spain and Brazil.
"Now we have paid €13.5 million to avoid any possible speculation. The experts we consulted assured us that no crime had been committed - neither financial nor criminal. However, we found ourselves in a strange situation when we had to pay taxes in two countries at once. It may take some time for law enforcement officials in both countries to determine which state should refund the overpayment," noted J. Faus.
"The €40 million that went to Neymar's father's company 'N&N' was paid completely legally and transparently, and Neymar's father will pay taxes in Brazil. We knew in advance that the €40 million could be considered as income, on which taxes must be paid, so we were prepared in advance. This is not a salary, it is a tax on royalties. It's a bit strange that the court took on the complaint without first consulting with the tax inspection. A paradoxical situation has arisen, but we have no doubt about our legality," said the vice president.
"The tax experts we consulted assured us that the €13.5 million paid will be returned to the club within two years, but now we are forced to include this amount in the cost of the Neymar operation. We will wait for the responsible institutions of both countries to determine which of them should return the money," summarized J.M. Bartomeu.
