Barcelona: La Liga leaders Barcelona have criticised a public prosecutor for demanding that the courts investigate allegations of misappropriation of funds in their 57-million-euro ($78 million, £47 million) signing of Brazilian star striker Neymar last year.
A member of the fan-owned club, Jordi Cases, lodged a complaint last month against its president Sandro Rosell alleging misappropriation of 40 million euros out of the total fee paid for Neymar.
The complaint accuses Rosell of misappropriation of funds because members do not know the "real destination" of 40 million euros supposedly paid to Neymar family business N&N, according to court documents.
Barcelona were subsequently asked to deliver to the court the contracts which brought about Neymar`s signing, as well as the club`s accounts for the past three years.
However, prosecutor Jose Perals said in a court filing on Friday that the contracts shown to the court contained conflicting details about what exactly the 40 million euros were paid for.
And he also asked the judge in the case to request the contracts lodged with football`s governing body FIFA, as well as those signed off by Neymar`s previous club Santos.
"FC Barcelona wants to express the severity of its anger towards the report released on Friday by the prosecutor for the National Audience regarding the signing of Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior," the club said in a statement on Saturday.
"The decision of the prosecutor creates doubts over an impeccable operation that allowed FC Barcelona, for 57 million euros, to get a player wanted by our competitors.
"Moreover, it is lamentable that new paperwork has now been requested that will unnecessarily delay a process that we have always considered unfounded and reckless.
"Faced with the severity of these events, and despite believing in the good faith of the law, we will continue to act strongly in the defence of the honour of FC Barcelona and its president."
