Neymar fined €125,000 for tax evasion

According to reports in the Brazilian press, Barcelona star and Brazilian national team captain Neymar is set to pay a pending fine of 460,000 BRL (equivalent to around €125,000) handed down to him after being found guilty of tax evasion between 2007 and 2008.

The Sao Paolo Federal Tribunal rejected the first appeal submitted by the player and his father after the guilty verdict in April 2014. They were ordered once again to pay the fine in January this year and have decided to pay up without waiting for the resolution of their latest appeal.

The fine was initially handed down for not having declared a series of payments by former club Santos years before Neymar`s high-profile and controversial transfer to Barcelona in 2013.

The case is not an isolated incident and the Brazilian star is no stranger to run-ins with his home country’s justice system.

He was found guilty in March of this year of tax evasion in relation to his contracts with Santos, Barcelona and Nike, a charge which could force him to repay up to 188.8 million BRL (€32 million) but which he has the option of appealing.