To this day, Neymar is football’s record transfer. PSG once paid more than 220 million euros for the goalscorer. But this change caused a new stir years later.
The French Ministry of Economy and Finance was raided on Monday. The background is the suspicion of tax breaks in the case of Neymar’s record transfer. This was reported by the AFP news agency, citing a familiar source. The footballer moved from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for a whopping 222 million euros.
Several departments of the General Directorate of Public Finance were targeted. Among other things, the office of the general director was also searched, it is said.
Investigations into the transfer have been ongoing since September 2022. The focus is on Jean-Martial Ribes, PSG’s former head of communications. Ribes is said to have influenced the transfer. These investigations led to the investigations that led to the raid.
Influence trading?
The current investigation concerns the question of whether Hugues Renson, as a former vice-president of the National Assembly, tried to obtain “tax benefits” from the government for PSG for Neymar’s transfer.
An investigative report sent to the investigative judge on November 21 and seen by the AFP raises the question of a possible “trafficking in influence” in which Renson could be involved.
Neymar moved from Paris to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia for 90 million euros last summer and is currently recovering from a torn cruciate ligament there.