Barcelona are suing Neymar for a breach of contract in response to his leaving the club for Paris Saint-Germain earlier in August.
The club has stated that they refuse to pay €26 million in bonus payments that Neymar is due this summer and will now attempt to claim back money already paid to him.
Barca said that they had passed the complaint on to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), and have already filed the lawsuit in a Barcelona court back on August 11th.
“FC Barcelona have sent a claim to be made against Neymar for breach of contract to the RFEF for it to be passed on to the French Football Federation [FFF] and FIFA,” the club said in the statement.
“In the lawsuit, the club demands the player return the already paid sum for his contract renewal because he has not fulfilled his contract; €8.5m in damages; and an additional 10 percent in interest. The club also requests that PSG subsidise the amounts in the event that the player cannot take responsibility.”
Barcelona spokesman Josep Vives confirmed that the club would not be making the world-record €222m transfer payment because Neymar had not fulfilled his contractual duties.
“With these criteria not met, the club will not pay the renewal bonus. The money is no longer with a notary but back with the club.”
Neymar, who has not yet commented about the lawsuit and/or statement from the club, made harsh comments about them earlier this week.
“I do have something to say: that I am disappointed with them [the Barca directors],” Neymar said after PSG’s win over Toulouse on Sunday.
“I spent four years there and was very happy. I began happy, spent four years happy and left happy. But not with them. For me, they shouldn’t be in charge of Barca. Barca deserve much better, and everyone knows this.
“To see my former teammates unhappy makes me sad also, because I have many friends [there]. I hope that things get better for Barca. That they return to the team they were and become one that can compete with the others.”
