neymar

Following the opening of legal proceedings for alleged tax irregularities relating to the different payments made during the signing of the player Neymar da Silva Santos Jr, the Futbol Club Barcelona Board of Directors met at the club offices. They  unanimously agreed that FC Barcelona was giving €13.55 million to the Spanish Tax Agency in a voluntary action “to cover any potential interpretation made concerning the contracts signed in the transfer process for Neymar”, although the Catalan club “remains convinced that the original tax payment was in line with [their] fiscal obligations”. Furthermore, they insist in the club’s full cooperation with the Law Courts in order to clarify this case.

FC Barcelona are no longer the Spanish League leaders. Barça suffered their third league defeat of the season against Real Sociedad (3-1) on Saturday evening. It was a grim night for Barça, who were chasing the game for most of the 90 minutes and never looked comfortable against a Real Sociedad who were lethal on the break. The defeat leaves Barça three points behind Real Madrid, who top the table. Gerardo Martino made six changes to the team who won in Manchester on Tuesday, with Song playing as the holding midfielder and  Busquets in an inside right role, whilst Xavi and Cesc started on the bench and Montoya, Bartra, Adriano and Neymar were back in the starting line up .

Messi and Alves set up impressive Champions League first leg win on Wednesday evening against Manchester City. Barça took a massive step towards the competition’s quarter finals with a 0-2 win at the Etihad Stadium. A disputed penalty and red card for Demichelsis on 53 minutes put an end to what had up to then been a cagey affair, as City desperately pushed to get back into the game, only to fall two behind when Alves scored the second late on. Manchester City surprisingly came out rather timidly, ceding possession to Barça, who, playing with Iniesta wide left and Messi as a false number nine, flooded the midfield, whilst the hosts stuck men in a high defensive line. After 15 minutes though, City came out of their shell and began to threaten.

City and Barça kick off the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 at the Etihad this Tuesday evening (8:45 PM CET). Lots has been said about the tie against Manchester City since December, when the draw for the Champions League knock out round took place. It’s likely the most attractive match up of the round as the ambitious English project goes up against the consistency of the Catalans. The English side will feature in their first ever Champions League knock out round, while the Blaugrana have made it to the semi-finals for six consecutive years. The two teams share an enormous capacity for scoring goals and, with the arrival of Pellegrini to City’s bench, an inclination for attacking football.

Three days ahead of their trip to Manchester, Barça put on a sparkling performance to reaffirm their top spot in the Spanish League with a 6-0 win over Rayo on Saturday evening. Adriano, Messi (2), Alexis, Pedro and Neymar scored the goals in the win. Two first half goals opened the door and after the break the chances and goals just kept coming. Rayo refused to park the bus though and despite the obvious gap in class between them and their hosts, the Madrid team stuck firm to their own attacking style and the game opened up with both teams playing the ball out from the back and pressing high up the pitch. Martino gave the crowd something else to cheer, bringing on Neymar after his month long injury lay off on 61 minutes.

After 29 days, the Brazilian player has finally managed to put his ankle injury behind him. After getting injured against Getafe, Neymar has missed eight official matches. The Brazilian superstar has been training with the squad since Monday, but only today was it finally confirmed that he would be fit to play, if picked, against Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou on Saturday evening. Neymar has played 25 games this season, scoring 11 goals. During his time away from duty, Neymar Jr has celebrated his first birthday as a Barça player, visited the club museum and appeared on the cover of Japan’s ‘Zone’ magazine.

Barça once again take on Llevant (also called Levante) after the 1-4 from the first leg of the Spanish Cup quarter-final tie. It will be the third showdown between to two sides in ten days. Throughout the competition Tata Martino has had a policy of rotating players into the starting team for Cup matches, and it doesn’t look like there will be an exception tonight. Iniesta, Puyol, Song and Montoya are back in the squad, while Xavi, Busquets and Alves didn’t make the team. If Barça make good on the result from the first leg, it will be the team’s seventh semi-final Cup berth in eight years (they were eliminated in the quarter-final round in 2010).

Neymar’s father has authorised FC Barcelona to lift the confidentiality clauses in his son’s contract. The Catalan club has insisted that the transfer total was €57.1 million and detailed all the payments referring to the player’s salary and other agreements reached with organisations connected to him. Barça’s new President, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and Director of the Football Management Area, Raül Sanllehí, clarified a number of stories published in various Spanish newspapers and as an exception, revealed details of Neymar’s salary. “We have not lied. Football games are won on the pitch, not behind closed doors in offices”, said Bartomeu.

Martino’s take on Llevant (also called Levante) at the Ciutat de Valencia for the Spanish Cup match after drawing with the Valencia-based side three days ago in the League. The Blaugrana return to scene where they drew 1-1 with the Llevant side, but this Wednesday evening, Tata Martino’s men will try to get a good result ahead of the second leg of the Cup tie at the Camp Nou. The FC Barcelona manager named 18 players to the team for the match. Dani Alves, who missed this weekend’s game against Levante due to suspension, and Carles Puyol made the team. Piqué, Montoya, Cuenca (technical reasons), Iniesta, Neymar Jr, Afellay, Dos Santos and Oier (injured) did not make the team.

Medical tests conducted on Friday morning have shown that the Brazilian striker has sprained his right ankle. He is expected to be out of action for three to four weeks. The Brazilian was injured fortuitously in the 22nd minute of Thursday night’s Copa del Rey second leg against Getafe, a game Barça won with two goals by Messi. Neymar will therefore miss for certain the next three league games against Levante, Malaga and Valencia, as well as the cup quarter finals also against Levante.

Barça reached the next round of the competition. Messi scored a brace, Xavi featured in his 700^th official match for the Catalan team and Neymar picked up an ankle injury. At first it looked as though the player had seriously injured his knee, but Barça’s medical team concluded that he had sprained his right ankle. FC Barcelona played a fairly practical game against Getafe. At the start, the Blaugrana controlled the flow of play through possession, and they managed to threaten Codina’s goal thanks to the Neymar-Messi partnership. In the first half, Getafe also had their chances to score, but Pinto was up to the task of denying the home team.

A gripping game between the two league leaders ended without score. Martino saved Messi and Neymar for a second half that both sides had chances to win. Barça played serious, intense football throughout, trying to stay faithful to their possession and passing game, with Atlético Madrid concentrating on a more direct approach, with much reliance on counter attacks and dead ball situations.

Barça qualify for the 1/8 round of the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) after defeating Cartagena at the Camp Nou on Tuesday evening. Barça came into the match with a 1-4 advantage from the first leg in Cartagena, and Gerardo Martino’s competitive line-up earned passage to the next round. Pedro (min 30), Mariano (og) (min 67) and Neymar (min 88), scored for the Blaugrana. Barça’s Club Member Solidarity Day was a complete success as 47,280 filled the Camp Nou, and the team put in a reaffirming performance.

Two Neymar goals bring FC Barcelona victory over Villarreal at the Camp Nou. FC Barcelona go five points clear of Real Madrid, who drew at Osasuna’s Stadium in Pamplona. They say that the best things are those you have to fight to earn. And on Saturday evening, FC Barcelona certainly had their work cut out to get the better of a defiant Villarreal at the Camp Nou. A Neymar penalty set things up nicely, but Musacchio’s early second half goal meant it was all back to square one for Barça. But some terrific football eventually paid off with Neymar grabbing his second goal of the evening to ensure three vital points.

Barça have secured top spot in the Champions League H group thanks to goals from Piqué, Pedro, Neymar (3) and Tello. The Brazilian was the hero of the night with an awe-inspiring display. Barça only needed a point to clinch top place in their group, but did much more than against a Celtic side that was only playing for pride but was instead played off the park by an intense, ambitious display from the Catalans. After going into an early 1-0 lead and with the win already as good as settled by half-time, Barça were able to play for the crowd and regain some lost confidence, with hat-trick hero Neymar on stunning form.