Brazilian authorities freezes football star Neymar's assets

Brazilian authorities have blocked assets belonging Barcelona star Neymar, after a Sao Paulo federal court rejected an appeal from the Brazilian striker last week, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The court had also started issuing warrants to freeze the assets worth almost 192 million reals (almost $50 million) which includes a yacht, a jet and several properties.

Last year, Neymar, his family and related businesses were found guilty of evading 63 million reals in taxes (almost $16 million) between 2011 and 2013 when he was playing for Brazilian club Santos.

The 23-year-old, however has denied any wrongdoing.

According to an auditor with Brazil’s federal tax agency, Iagaro Jung Martins, Neymar isn’t likely to go to jail if he pays what regulators say he owes.

“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,” said Martins as quoted in the AP.

The assets seizure is the latest in a streak of bad news for the Brazilian star off the pitch.

On Feb 2 Neymar and his father were questioned for three hours in a Madrid court about the player’s transfer to Barcelona.

The case was brought by Grupo Sonda, which invested in Neymar early in his career and was allegedly entitled to 40 percent of the total transfer amount.