It has been widely reported in Spain and Brazil that last season Barcelona reached an agreement to buy Neymar from Santos for €40 million. The Barcelona financial reports for last season show that they have already paid Santos at least €10 million for the Brazilian superstar.
The agreement is structured so that Neymar could continue to play for Santos through the end of the 2014 World Cup at which time he would move to Spain to team up with Xavi and Messi.
In order to protect themselves in case Santos decided to renege on the deal, Barcelona reportedly added a a penalty clause of €40 million, which is what they would receive is Santos sold Neymar to someone else. The thought process being that it would not be worth it financially for Santos to sell Neymar to someone else, as they would end up with less money.
It is this contract that is coming into scrutiny, especially from Real Madrid and Manchester City who both are desperate to land the best player not currently playing in Europe.
According to Marca, both clubs are studying the validity of the contract and that according to some legal experts, if the document is brought before a court, it could be declared null and void.
I wonder also if FIFA will get involved? Neymar is a Santos player, but by accepting money for him from Barcelona, does that make him part-owned by Barca also?