Barcelona happy Neymar tax fraud case moved to Catalonia... and hope it's dismissed

Barcelona happy Neymar tax fraud case moved to Catalonia... and hope it's dismissed

The legal proceedings over Neymar's transfer have been moved to Barcelona.

The club itself, former president Sandro Rosell and current chief Josep Maria Bartomeu are all standing trial for alleged tax evasion during the process of signing Neymar from Santos. 

The National Court in Madrid decided the case should be heard in front of a Catalan judge. 

Judge Jose de la Mata, who took over from Judge Pablo Ruz, decided there was enough evidence to force the defendants to stand trial. 

However, he also decided to move the case to Catalonia, rather than keeping it in the centralised Audencia Nacional. 

Barcelona now hope the case can be dismissed. That is the next step for the defence lawyers. Read a club statement below.