Judge Rules For Barcelona In Neymar Bonus Dispute
Neymar ordered to repay $7.5m in bonus dispute with Barcelona
GOAL - Emma Smith
The Brazil international and former Barca player had claimed he was owed €43.6m (£39m/$49m) in bonuses by his old team, however this was dismissed and he must now repay money to his former club.
A statement on the club website said: "FC Barcelona welcomes the judgment handed down today by the Social Court 15 of Barcelona, in connection with lawsuits between the club and the player Neymar Junior in claiming compensation for the bonus signed in his last contract renewal.
"The judgment dismisses the player's claim in its entirety, which demanded the payment of €43.6m, and estimates a large part of the claim filed by FC Barcelona, under which the player must return the club €6.7m."
Neymar is able to appeal this decision.
The PSG forward had filed the lawsuit in August 2017 after Barcelona declined to pay bonus included in his contract renewal signed in 2016, with Neymar completing his world-record transfer to the French club the following summer.
Barcelona contended that the clause relating to the payment was rendered null and void when he left Camp Nou, while the footballer's agent and father, Neymar Sr., accused Barca of "blackmail", and the player's camp even called for the Spanish giants to be expelled from the Champions League for not paying his bonus.
The case was initially taken to FIFA, who closed their investigation with no action in February 2018, and now Barca have been awarded the judgement in the law courts.
Neymar left Barca in 2017 in an attempt to move out from the shadow of Lionel Messi and increase his own chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.
While he has won every domestic trophy on offer in France - they have won the Ligue 1 title in every season the Brazilian has played for the French side - the club have yet to find any success in the Champions League, while Neymar has regularly been linked with a move away from Paris and a potential return to Barcelona.
