Neymar’s father, mother and the family company N&N have also been charged in the case, along with former Santos manager Odilio Rodrigues, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, the then president and vice-president of Barcelona.

The case stems from a complaint by Brazilian investment group DIS, which owned part of Neymar’s transfer rights and alleges that it received less money than it was entitled to when Neymar joined Barcelona.

Investigations were carried out in Spain and Brazil into whether any part of the transfer fee had been concealed and the trial, to be held at the Provincial Court of Barcelona, is scheduled to run until Oct. 31.

Neymar has denied wrongdoing but in 2017, Spain’s High Court rejected appeals by the player, his parents, N&N and the two clubs, paving the way for the case to go to trial.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)