Neymar has signed a new five-year deal with Barcelona that will make him the second-highest-paid player on the team behind Lionel Messi, ESPN Brasil has reported.
According to the outlet, the new contract was signed in December when Barcelona were in Japan for the Club World Cup, but any announcement was held up due to issues surrounding the Brazilian’s recent tax cases with Spanish and Brazilian authorities.
Neymar’s new accord with the Catalan club, which will begin this summer, will last until June 2021, according to the report. His previous deal was set to expire in 2018.
Since joining the club, Neymar has matured into one of the finest players in world football, and finished third behind Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or award.
The 24-year-old Brazil captain who helped the club to an historic Treble last season moved from Santos to Barcelona in the summer of 2013 for €57.1 million (then $74 million), the club said. But investigations in Spain later showed that Barcelona spent nearly €83.3 million ($90 million) to acquire the Brazilian.
The National Court in Spain is looking into a complaint made by a Brazilian investment group which claims it was financially harmed when Barcelona and Neymar allegedly withheld the real amount of the player’s transfer fee from Brazilian club Santos in 2013.
Additionally, Brazilian authorities have recently moved to block Neymar’s assets, including a yacht, a jet and several properties in his home nation after having been found guilty of evading 63m reals in Brazil taxes ($16m, €14m) between 2011 and 2013, while Neymar played for Brazilian club Santos.
