February 27 – FIFA have decided to take no action in a dispute between Paris St Germain’s Brazilian star Neymar and his previous club Barcelona over an alleged unpaid €26 million loyalty bonus.
The world governing body has closed an investigation upon learning the matter was being dealt with by the courts.
Neymar, who completed a world record transfer to PSG last summer, is demanding Barca be thrown out of the Champions league for refusing to pay the bonus to his father.
A FIFA spokesperson told Sky: “After having been made aware that, apparently, the same matter had been submitted in parallel before different jurisdictions, by the same party, the FIFA administration informed the parties to the dispute that, based on the long-standing and well-established jurisprudence of FIFA’s deciding bodies, it did not seem to be in a position to continue with the investigation of the affair. The proceedings were therefore closed for formal reasons.”
Barcelona spokesman Josep Vives said earlier this month: “The club will not pay the bonus to Neymar’s father. There were three conditions: the player must not negotiate his departure from the club during the month before the bonus became payable, he must demonstrate his desire to fulfil his contract, and that we would not pay out the bonus before September 1, to ensure the transfer window was closed. Now that we know that none of these three conditions were met, we will not honour that bonus.”
Meanwhile Neymar himself suffered a potentially serious injury during PSG’s 3-0 win over Marseille at the weekend, carried off on a stretcher after falling to the ground clutching his ankle.
The incident happened nine days before PSG’s all-important Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Real Madrid.
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