Spain prosecutors drop charges against PSG star Neymar

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Prosecutors in Spain dropped fraud charges on Friday against Brazilian football star Neymar and others accused in a trial over the player move from Brazilian club Santos to Barcelona in 2013.

The prosecutor announced the "withdrawal of the charges against all the accused and for all the allegations" they had faced.

Neymar had said he did not remember whether he took part in the negotiations that led to an agreement with Barcelona sealed in 2011 over his transfer 2 years later to the Spanish side from Santos.

Spanish prosecutors had sought a two-year prison sentence for the key member of the Brazil team that will be going next month to the World Cup in Qatar, in addition to the payment of a 10-million-euro ($9.7 million) fine. 

Dropping the charges is the culmination of a years-long legal saga over the player's high-profile transfer to Europe.

Neymar then joined Paris Saint-Germain in a world record 222-million-euro transfer in 2017.

He had been one of nine defendants on trial for corruption-related charges. Among the defendants are his parents and their company N&N, which manages his affairs.

Brazilian football star Neymar was due to face trial in October over alleged irregularities in his transfer to Barcelona, judicial sources said in July.

The case originates from a complaint by Brazilian group DIS, the former owner of a percentage of the player's rights.