Neymar Jr. Net Worth, Salary: Brazillian Federal Court Freezes $48 Million In Assets of FC Barcelona Star
A Brazilian court has frozen $48 million in assets held by FC Barcelona star Neymar on Friday due to allegations of tax evasion.
ESPN FC reports the Sao Paulo federal court is accusing Neymar of tax evasion and has frozen $48 million of his assets. According to court documents, Neymar evaded $16 million in taxes between 2011 and 2013.
The frozen assets include Neymar's family businesses and the following companies that Neymar has been a part of: Neymar Sport e Marketing, N & N Consultoria Esportiva e Empresaria,l and N & N Administração de Bens Participações e Investimentos.
This is not the first Barcelona player to be accused of tax evasion. Soccer megastar Lionel Messi recently was accused of tax fraud. The courts stated that Messi owes €4.1m to Spanish authorities and will face trial at some point this year.
Barcelona club president Josep Bartomeu reportedly evaded millions in taxes after signing Neymar to the team years ago.
Neymar, who is having a great season for FC Barcelona, is expected to go to trial for tax evasion. According to Iagaro Jung Martins, an auditor with Brazil's federal tax agency, he stated that as long as Neymar pays what he owes, he won't go to jail.
"He will be able to discuss the frozen assets in a civil court,'' Martins said in a statement with the Associated Press.
"But legislation in Brazil isn't too harsh. If Neymar pays what he owes, he is very likely to be free from any other punishment.'' he concluded.
Neymar has not released any statement regarding the frozen assets. No timetable for the case was announced. It is not known if this news will affect Neymar's playing time.
FC Barcelona's next game is against Las Palmas Sunday at 10 a.m. local time at Camp Nou.
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