Sandro Rosell, The president of Spanish champion soccer team Barcelona resigned on Thursday, January 23, 2014 to fight criminal accusations he misappropriated funds from the signing of Brazilian forward Neymar. A Judge in Madrid ruled the previous day that he will have a lawsuit alleging the real cost of the Neymar transfer from Santos was hidden almost 6 months ago. Rosell states “I don’t want unfair attacks to negatively affect management or the image of the club. This is why I think my time here has come to an end” while also insisting that the deal to bring Neymar to Barcelona was legal. Neymar was acquired in the summer of 2013 for a reported 57 million euros, however, the legal case claims the real cost of the Neymar transfer was 94 million euros. The criminal offense of misappropriation of funds is punishable by up to six years in prison. Although the lawsuit does not accuse Rosell of taking money from the deal. The case prompted Barcelona’s board to call an emergency meeting, and Rosell announced after more than two hours of deliberations that he was quitting. Rosell, elected in 2010, said vice president Josep Bartomeu will take his place and complete the presidential term that expires in 2016.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20140123/barcelona-president-sandro-rosell-neymar-lawsuit.ap/
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