Neymar after the accusations of fraud for his transfer to Barcelona: “I sign what my father tells me”

The PSG striker denied having any kind of knowledge regarding his contractual issues. Neymar testified Tuesday at his trial for fraud and corruption in his transfer from Brazilian club Santos to Barcelona in 2013 that he knew very little about the negotiations and that his father is the one who handles his contracts.

Neymar and his father, who acts as his agent, are among those accused of having concealed the real amount of the transfer to a Brazilian investment group involved in the operation.

The striker’s mother, former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu, and representatives of both clubs were also present at the trial that began on Monday and is due to last until at least next week.

“I did not participate in any negotiations, my father always takes care of that”, Neymar said in Portuguese. “I sign what he tells me.”

Neymar added that he was aware of the rumors about clubs that wanted him, but that his childhood dream was to play for Barcelona.

“I had many offers, but my dream was always to play for Barça”said. “My heart was always Barça. I had an offer from Madrid and I don’t remember the others. At the last moment it was Barça or Madrid and my heart asked for Barça”.

The president of Real Madrid was called to testify by the plaintiffs. Via videoconference, Florentino Pérez pointed out that he did not know Neymar personally, but that his club was interested in signing him before the player ended up signing with Barcelona.

He mentioned that Madrid had made an offer of 45 million euros (now 44.2 million dollars) for the now PSG striker. “Players go where they want. Neymar wanted to go to Barcelona and that’s why he went to Barcelona”, Perez said.

Neymar’s father indicated that Madrid presented offers for Neymar, but that his son always preferred to play with the Catalan side. Neymar’s mother also said that she was never aware of the negotiations between Santos and Barcelona.

Neymar and his parents received permission to withdraw from the court in Barcelona after completing their testimonies.

All the defendants deny having committed crimes. They had to appear in court on the first day, but Neymar left earlier because he had played for Paris Saint-Germain in France the night before.