Brazilian Forward Neymar Files Fresh Lawsuit Against Barcelona

Brazilian forward Neymar has filed a fresh lawsuit against Barcelona to demand some three million euros of unpaid wages from his previous stint at the Spanish club, a judicial source said Friday.

The lawsuit was filed "a few weeks ago", the source told AFP, confirming a report published in Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo which said the Paris Saint-Germain player was suing the Catalan giants to collect "3.2 million euros ($3.6 million) relating to his July 2017 salary".

According to the newspaper, Neymar alleges Barcelona withheld part of his salary when he quit the club to join the French side in 2017. Neymar's shock transfer to PSG for a then-world record 222 million euros ($250 million at the time) came less than a year after he signed a contract that would have kept him at the Spanish club until 2021.

The 27-year-old player argues Barcelona "did not pay him his final salary as a 'reprisal' for having claimed his extension bonus", El Mundo reported. Neymar has already sued Barcelona to demand the paymenet of 64.4 million euros which he negotiated with the club in 2016 in exchange for the extension of his contract until 2021.

A Barcelona court in September heard both sides in the dispute, but is yet to issue its ruling. Barcelona say they paid Neymar a first tranche of 20.75 million euros before he left for PSG, but did not pay him the rest.

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The player then sued to collect the rest of the sum. Barcelona counter-sued to demand that Neymar return the 20.75m euros he had already been paid.

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