Former Barcelona president could face 5-year prison sentence for Neymar transfer

Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell finds himself in a bit of a pickle as he could be facing multiple prison sentences according to a report from SPORT.

The disgraced ex-Barca supremo is being tried for tax evasion and prosecutor Pedro Castro has asked for a prison sentence of two years and nine months, in addition to paying a fine of €300,000 for his transgressions.

Rosell has been accused of defrauding €230,951 in taxes in 2012, but the prosecution is willing to overlook that under extenuating circumstances as he made the payment to the treasury, including interest in 2019.

However, the former Barcelona president is now being accused of creating a company, Toc SLU, in 2009, through which he made an income that was not declared in tax returns, amounting to €352,382. The said company offered no services other than ‘subletting offices’ in a building that had already been rented by Rossell, claims prosecutor Castro.

In addition to these charges, the disgraced former Barcelona president is yet to be tried for his misappropriation of funds in the signing of Neymar back in 2013, which, as per the report, could land him in jail for five years.

Rossell secured the signing of the Brazilian hotshot from Santos FC in 2013, in a deal which he claimed to be worth €57.1million. But, the true value of the transfer came out to be €86.2million, with close to €40million having been paid to a company owned by Neymar’s father.

Rossell was president of Barcelona for over three years between July 2010 and January 2014, when he resigned after the Neymar issue blew up. While he may have overseen plenty of success during his time at the helm, the 57-year-old also brought a bad name by the mishandling of funds.

Rossell has already spent close to two years in prison between 2017 and 2019 for money laundering involving the audiovisual rights of past matches of the Brazilian national team. With the latest tax fraud charges and the trial for Neymar’s pending, more prison time could be on the cards for the former Barca president.