<p>Brazilian football superstar Neymar was cleared of corruption charges on Tuesday related to his transfer to Barcelona from Santos in 2013.</p>.<p>A court in Spain acquitted all nine defendants in the trial.</p>.<p>In addition to Neymar, this included his parents, FC Barcelona and former club presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, Santos FC and former president Odilio Rodrigues Filho, and N&N -- the company founded by Neymar's parents to manage his career.</p>.<p>Brazilian company DIS had argued they lost out financially on Neymar's transfer because they owned 40 % of his sporting rights at Santos and believed the true value of the deal had been obscured by those involved.</p>.<p>"According to the court it has not been proved there was a false contract or that DIS was intended to be harmed," said the court in a statement.</p>.<p>DIS said later Tuesday they would appeal the sentence before the Spanish Supreme Court.</p>.<p>"DIS laments that the opportunity has been lost to put a stop to some corrupt practises in the world of football that are inconceivable in other areas," said the company in a statement.</p>.<p>Neymar's high-profile trial got underway in mid-October in Barcelona, just a month before the start of the World Cup in Qatar.</p>.<p>The 30-year-old -- who now plays for French champions Paris Saint-Germain -- and Brazil crashed out after a penalty shootout against Croatia in the quarter-finals.</p>.<p>Prosecutors had initially sought a two-year jail term and a 10-million-euro ($10.5 million) fine for Neymar but in a surprise move they dropped corruption and fraud charges against all the accused at the end of October.</p>.<p>Brazilian sports investment firm DIS filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging it had been defrauded during the player's transfer to Barcelona.</p>.<p>It claimed Neymar, Barcelona and the Brazilian club colluded to mask the true cost of his transfer thereby cheating it of its proper share of the player's transfer.</p>.<p>DIS also argued that it was not informed of the existence of an exclusivity contract in 2011 between Neymar and Barcelona.</p>.<p>But Spanish prosecutors, which initially shared DIS' view, later said the firm's allegations were not based on "evidence".</p>.<p>They concluded the case was a matter for civil rather than criminal justice.</p>.<p>Even though prosecutors dropped their charges the case continued because the court was also considering a separate indictment filed by DIS as it is allowed by Spanish law.</p>.<p>DIS was seeking to recover 35 million euros it claims it was cheated of.</p>.<p>Barca said the transfer cost 57.1 million euros, with 40 million euros paid to N&N and 17.1 million to Santos, of which 6.8 million was given to DIS.</p>.<p>Spanish prosecutors initially said they believed the actual value was at least 83 million euros.</p>.<p>During the trial Neymar said he didn't remember if he took part in the transfer negotiations, saying he only signed documents presented to him by his father.</p>.<p>All of the other defendants, including former Barcelona presidents Bartomeu and Rosell, denied any wrongdoing.</p>.<p>DIS, which owns a chain of supermarkets in Brazil's Sao Paulo region, initially asked for a five-year prison sentence for Neymar and his father who is also the player's agent.</p>.<p>But at the end of the trial it called for a revised prison sentence of two and a half years for Neymar and four years for Neymar's father, but the defendants were acquitted.</p>.<p>Neymar, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, left for PSG in 2017 for a world-record 222 million euro ($234 million) transfer fee, with the Parisian side activating his release clause.</p>
<p>Brazilian football superstar Neymar was cleared of corruption charges on Tuesday related to his transfer to Barcelona from Santos in 2013.</p>.<p>A court in Spain acquitted all nine defendants in the trial.</p>.<p>In addition to Neymar, this included his parents, FC Barcelona and former club presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, Santos FC and former president Odilio Rodrigues Filho, and N&N -- the company founded by Neymar's parents to manage his career.</p>.<p>Brazilian company DIS had argued they lost out financially on Neymar's transfer because they owned 40 % of his sporting rights at Santos and believed the true value of the deal had been obscured by those involved.</p>.<p>"According to the court it has not been proved there was a false contract or that DIS was intended to be harmed," said the court in a statement.</p>.<p>DIS said later Tuesday they would appeal the sentence before the Spanish Supreme Court.</p>.<p>"DIS laments that the opportunity has been lost to put a stop to some corrupt practises in the world of football that are inconceivable in other areas," said the company in a statement.</p>.<p>Neymar's high-profile trial got underway in mid-October in Barcelona, just a month before the start of the World Cup in Qatar.</p>.<p>The 30-year-old -- who now plays for French champions Paris Saint-Germain -- and Brazil crashed out after a penalty shootout against Croatia in the quarter-finals.</p>.<p>Prosecutors had initially sought a two-year jail term and a 10-million-euro ($10.5 million) fine for Neymar but in a surprise move they dropped corruption and fraud charges against all the accused at the end of October.</p>.<p>Brazilian sports investment firm DIS filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging it had been defrauded during the player's transfer to Barcelona.</p>.<p>It claimed Neymar, Barcelona and the Brazilian club colluded to mask the true cost of his transfer thereby cheating it of its proper share of the player's transfer.</p>.<p>DIS also argued that it was not informed of the existence of an exclusivity contract in 2011 between Neymar and Barcelona.</p>.<p>But Spanish prosecutors, which initially shared DIS' view, later said the firm's allegations were not based on "evidence".</p>.<p>They concluded the case was a matter for civil rather than criminal justice.</p>.<p>Even though prosecutors dropped their charges the case continued because the court was also considering a separate indictment filed by DIS as it is allowed by Spanish law.</p>.<p>DIS was seeking to recover 35 million euros it claims it was cheated of.</p>.<p>Barca said the transfer cost 57.1 million euros, with 40 million euros paid to N&N and 17.1 million to Santos, of which 6.8 million was given to DIS.</p>.<p>Spanish prosecutors initially said they believed the actual value was at least 83 million euros.</p>.<p>During the trial Neymar said he didn't remember if he took part in the transfer negotiations, saying he only signed documents presented to him by his father.</p>.<p>All of the other defendants, including former Barcelona presidents Bartomeu and Rosell, denied any wrongdoing.</p>.<p>DIS, which owns a chain of supermarkets in Brazil's Sao Paulo region, initially asked for a five-year prison sentence for Neymar and his father who is also the player's agent.</p>.<p>But at the end of the trial it called for a revised prison sentence of two and a half years for Neymar and four years for Neymar's father, but the defendants were acquitted.</p>.<p>Neymar, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, left for PSG in 2017 for a world-record 222 million euro ($234 million) transfer fee, with the Parisian side activating his release clause.</p>