French Ligue 1
Neymar tells court did not participate in Barcelona transfer talks
Brazil soccer star Neymar Jr told a court on Tuesday he did not participate in negotiations over his transfer to “childhood dream” club Barcelona from Santos in 2013, but had signed what his father had told him to.
Along with Neymar, 30, eight other defendants are on trial on fraud and corruption charges over the transfer, including his parents, representatives of the two clubs, former Barca presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and former Santos president Odilio Rodrigues.
All the defendants have denied any wrongdoing.
“I didn’t participate in the negotiations. My father always took care of it and always will. I sign everything he tells me to sign,” Neymar told the court in Barcelona in his first testimony in the trial that began on Monday.
“Playing for Barcelona was always my dream, a childhood dream.”
The case centres on an allegation made by Brazilian investment firm DIS, which owned 40% of the rights to Neymar when he was at Brazil’s Santos, that it lost out on its rightful cut from the transfer because the value of the deal was understated.
Spanish prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison term and a 10 million euro ($9.8 million) fine for Neymar. They are also seeking a five-year jail term for Rosell and an 8.4 million euro fine for Barcelona.
A court document released in July alleges that Barcelona initiated negotiations on Nov. 15, 2011, with the player, paying him 40 million euros to ensure his move when his contract with Santos expired in 2014 and thereby preventing other clubs from signing him.
“Our intention was to prepare a career plan for him in Europe, in which we had in place already established, could learn the language, etc. And knowing his dream to play for Barcelona, we signed that priority agreement with them,” the player’s father, Neymar da Silva Santos, told the court.
None of the defendants who are representatives or former figures at the clubs have yet given evidence. Neymar and his parents had the right not to testify but decided to do so.
Neymar’s lawyers say that competition rules relate to products and services and do not apply to the transfer market.
The court later heard from André Cury, Barca’s former point man in Brazil, whose testimony as a witness on the negotiations over the player was expected to be key for the case.
Cury said Barcelona had asked Neymar’s father to get a letter from Santos authorising the player to start negotiations with the Spanish club.
He said Barcelona agreed to advancing a 10 million euro loan to Neymar’s parents in 2011 from what he called an insurance contract that would oblige Neymar to pay 40 million euros to Barcelona in the case he decided to sign with another club.
Neymar and his parents were excused from staying for the rest of the trial, which is expected to last until Monday.
Neymar is expected on Wednesday to resume training with Paris St Germain, which he joined in 2017. The team face Ajaccio on Friday, before hosting Maccabi Haifa in a Champions League game on Oct. 25.
-Reuters
After reaching a significant career milestone, Super Eagles winger and Nantes star, Moses Simon, was recognised by French Ligue 1 on Tuesday.
A pillar in the Nigeria Super Eagles side that finished second in last February’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, Simon is regarded as one of the most decisive Nigerian players in the French top division. He reached a milestone of 150 matches in the French Ligue 1 during Nantes’ 1-1 draw with Angers SCO at the weekend.
The Ligue 1 official Twitter account marked the occasion, celebrating Simon’s contributions with a post stating, “Indispensable Moses Simon.”
In his 150 appearances, the 29-year-old winger racked up 27 goals and 29 assists, showcasing his vital role in his team’s success.
Simon’s achievement places him fifth among Nigerian players with the most Ligue 1 appearances, trailing only John Utaka (239 games), Wilson Oruma (196), Taye Taiwo (191), and Victor Ikpeba (170).
Further cementing his legacy, Simon’s assist during the Angers match made him the most decisive player for Nantes since their promotion to Ligue 1 in 2013.
His pinpoint pass to Johann Lepenant in the 18th minute gave Nantes an early lead before Angers’ Himad Abdelli equalised later on.
With this assist, Simon broke the previous club record held by the late Emiliano Sala, becoming Nantes’ top contributor with 29 assists in Ligue 1.
This season, the Super Eagles forward has continued his form, recording two goals and two assists in just five games.
Simon was named Nantes’ Player of the Month for August.
Simon, who joined Nantes from Levante in August 2019, helped the Yellow Canaries lift the Coupe de France in 2022. It was the third trophy of his career, having won the Belgian Pro League and the Super Cup with Gent in 2015.
Jean-Louis Gasset who was sacked by Cote d’Ivoire after the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations last January has announced his retirement as a coach of Olympique de Marseille.
He will take charge of his last game on Sunday before retiring from management, the 70-year-old said on Friday.
Gasset was appointed as interim manager by the Ligue 1 club in February after the sacking of Gennaro Gattuso, and Marseille are eight in the standings going into their final Ligue 1 game of the season at Le Havre.
“Sunday will be the last match of my career,” Gasset told a press conference.
“That I stay in football, that my experience, my ideas and my networks are used is a possibility. I don’t know how to garden, I won’t have anything to do. But as a coach, it’s over.”
The Frenchman’s previous job was with Ivory Coast from which he was sacked after the team’s poor performances in the Africa Cup of Nations group stage. They scraped through as the last lucky losers before going on to win the tournament on home soil.
-Reuters
Kylian Mbappe has backed winger Ousmane Dembele to be a success at Paris St Germain and fill his boots after he exits the club, as he won his fifth successive Ligue 1 Player of the Year award.
France captain Mbappe, 25, last week announced that he will leave the French champions at the end of the season after a seven-year stay, during which he became their all-time top scorer with 256 goals.
Mbappe’s frustration lies with PSG’s performances in the Champions League, a trophy they have never lifted despite huge investment in the squad. He has been heavily linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, who are in the final this year seeking a 15th European crown.
His 26-year-old compatriot Dembele joined the Parisian club, who have won 10 of the last 12 Ligue 1 titles, from LaLiga side Barcelona in August last year, signing a five-year deal.
“I have shared and played with incredible players, like Dembele who is here, he is a friend and one day he will pick up this award,” Mbappe said on Monday at the award ceremony.
“I thank the club as a whole, the coach, who has helped me and trusted me, his staff, the doctors, all the people at the club, the sporting management, the president, the shareholders of the club, of course, the Emir of Qatar who came to find me at the age of 18, who has accompanied me in all my decisions…”
He said his next chapter is going to be very exciting but did not reveal any further details.
“Now I’m turning the page in my life. Everything that comes next is super exciting, but that’s another subject,” Mbappe said.
“Thank you all, I’m going to miss you. I have always tried to do my best, and I also want to thank my family, who have always been with me in good times and bad.
“My father, who is here, I know that it was very important to him that I made history in Ligue 1 before I left and I think that with humility I have done everything you wanted.”
-Reuters
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