On Friday, Spanish prosecutors dismissed all charges of corruption and fraud against soccer player Neymar and the other defendants in a case involving the 2013 transfer of a Brazilian from Santos to Barcelona.
The prosecutor made a stunning announcement, "withdrawing the charges against all the defendants and for all the allegations," that had been made against them.
Neymar, 30, has previously stated that he was unable to recall if he participated in the negotiations that resulted in an agreement being signed with Barcelona in 2011 over his transfer from Brazilian club Santos to the Spanish side two years later.
Neymar, a key player for the Brazilian team that will travel to the World Cup in Qatar next month, had faced a two-year prison sentence and a 10-million-euro ($9.7 million) punishment from Spanish authorities.
The dropping of the charges is the culmination of a years-long legal saga over Neymar’s high-profile transfer to Europe.
He then joined Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain in a world record 222-million-euro transfer in 2017.
Neymar had been one of nine defendants on trial on corruption-related charges, among them his parents and their N&N company, which manages his affairs.