Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell was arrested on Tuesday in a money laundering investigation related to image rights in the Brazilian national football team, a police spokesman told AFP.
The police operation was mainly carried out in the northeastern region of Catalunya and for the moment “there are four or five detainees, including the former president of Barca, Sandro Rosell, and his wife,” the police spokesman said.
The investigation focuses on “money laundering in companies linked to the image rights of the Brazilian football team,” police added.
Officers were searching the homes of those arrested as part of the operation as well as at several company headquarters in Barcelona, Girona and Lleida in Catalonia and in Andorra, a tiny principality wedged between Spain and France, police said.
Businessman Rosell, 53, was manager of sporting goods giants Nike in Brazil and oversaw the contract for the national team to wear the US brand, before taking over as president of Barcelona in 2010.
He resigned as Barcelona president in 2014 after being charged over alleged tax fraud relating to the club’s signing of Brazil striker Neymar from Santos. He was later cleared of all charges in connection with the case following an agreement with prosecutors.
Rosell will nevertheless be tried for fraud and corruption relating to a parallel complaint filed by Brazilian investment company DIS, which owned 40% of Neymar’s sporting rights at the time of his transfer.
DIS claim it was cheated out of its real share because part of the transfer fee was concealed by Barcelona, Santos and the Neymar family.
A Spanish court earlier this month ordered Neymar and his parents to stand trial for alleged “business corruption” over the affair, making him the latest star from the Catalan club to have to take the stand.
Five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi and his father were given 21-month suspended jail sentences in July 2016 for tax fraud relating to the player’s image rights.
Barca’s Argentine defender Javier Mascherano also agreed a one-year suspended sentence with authorities for tax fraud earlier this year.
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I’d like to see Brian Kerr given another chance.A very positive forward thinking manager who still has the best win record for Ireland,is younger than O’Neill,and what he achieved with the Faroe Islands was phenomenal.Spend five minutes on Twitter and the Ipswich fans can’t wait to get rid of Mick.The word dinosaur seems to crop up a lot.For me Kerr who be a no brainer.
@Padraig: I think Kerr could have more of an impact given a remit at under age level, alongside Ruud Dokter. Or maybe even in charge of the under 21 team. It’s a real pity he’s gone completely unused.
I would miss Roy. I think he and Brian Kerr would be a good team.
@GARFARKLE: Roy over the senior and Kerr over the under 21s with a consulting role in the seniors, aiding with player transition to the senior side (even with an eye on the under 19s which looks like a hotbed at the moment). That would be great.
@EnKy: Good one. Thank you for expanding my point.
Bring back Mick
I wonder if Johnny Walters is only saying that because he’s gone from Stoke now, and he knows how detrimental MON is to the Irish team with his insistence, like Trappatoni’s, that the Irish players aren’t any good, and thus shouldn’t be allowed play football.
And finally:
Former Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni calls time on managerial career – after his wife said she’d ‘change the locks’ if he left again
https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/giovanni-trapattoni-retire-ireland-team-11841576
I think the fai will go for McCarthy.
Yea,let’s clamber for O’Neill,he’s won so much for Ireland!
Need an extension on the trophy room.
Actually can’t believe w
@Gary O’Hanlon: can’t believe people want Roy Keane as a manager. He is clueless. Passion, desire, commitment that’s all he ever says.