Taxman nets Barcelona striker Neymar’s private jet and yacht in £33m raid

Tax probe: Barcelona star Neymar

Barcelona's “golden boy” striker Neymar has suffered the indignity of having his yacht and private jet seized by the Brazilian tax man in a spectacular £33 million raid.

The trophy assets of one of the world’s most gifted footballers — as well as a string of properties — were impounded by authorities pursuing alleged tax evasion charges.

They claim that the 24-year-old, his father Neymar Snr, and family-run businesses owed £11 million from undeclared income earned in the tax years from 2011 and 2013, when he was transferred from Brazilian club Santos to Barcelona.

The figure has ballooned with interest and penalties. A São Paulo federal court rejected an appeal from Neymar last week over the allegations and issued warrants to freeze assets belonging to him, his father, and three family businesses, according to reports from Brazil. Both insist they are innocent.

The Seventh Federal Court of Santos sent a list of assets to be seized to notaries in São Paulo as well as São Vicente, Praia Grande, Guarujá and Santos where Neymar owns properties.

In his short career the father of one — he has a son, Davi Lucca, with former girlfriend Carolina Dantas— has been ranked the world’s 23rd highest paid athlete by Forbes magazine and has accumulated many of the trappings of extreme wealth.

He paid £10 million for the 78ft Italian-made yacht Nadine, named after his mother, in 2012 when he was just 20. Last year he added a £7 million jet — with his initials NJR on the tail — to his collection of “toys”.

Trophy assets: Neymar with his jet which bears his initials on the tail

The purchase came after Neymar made headlines when he chartered a private plane to pick up Serbian model Soraya Vucelic, whom he met in Ibiza in the summer of 2014.

However, the player — described by Pele as “a wizard with magical feet” — has been dogged by allegations of financial irregularities, not least over his transfer to Barcelona.

The latest headlines concerning Neymar’s tangled tax affairs are unlikely to impress the roster of sponsors who provide most of his earnings including Nike, Panasonic, Red Bull and Santander.

In November, Neymar Snr told a Spanish radio station his son’s tax problems could result in him leaving the Spanish champions altogether.

He said: “Since we arrived in Spain we have been under attack [from the tax office] and it has extended to Brazil. For the last two and a half years, we have had to defend ourselves from accusations.”

The Brazilian is not the first Barcelona star run into trouble with the tax man. The Spanish authorities charged team mate Lionel Messi and his father with tax fraud in October and a trial start date has been set for the end of May. Last month defender Javier Mascherano was sentenced to a year in prison over a £1.2 million tax fraud but is likely to escape jail by paying an extra fine.

According to Iagaro Jung Martins, an auditor with Brazil’s federal tax agency, Neymar will also stay out of custody if he simply pays his fine.

He said: “He can still appeal that decision, but it is a step forward. Nothing changed to what was in place last year: if he pays what he owes, the case is closed. Our legislation isn’t too harsh.”

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