Since Lionel Messi went down with an injury in September (he's back now), Neymar has been a miracle worker.
He performed one more miracle Monday, but not for Barcelona. The 23-year-old was selected as one of the final three players competing to win the 2015 Ballon d'Or, and his selection made a big difference for his hometown club in Brazil, Santos.
As part of the transfer agreement between Santos and Barcelona, Barca will have to fork over €2 million to Santos due to Neymar's selection. The agreement contained a clause that required Barcelona to pay up in the event of neymar making the Ballon d'Or top three.
And he has done that, and now we're here.
That is sure to put smiles on the faces of the powers that be at Santos, €2 million can go a long way in the Brazilian league.
It's nice to see some good come of that deal, because it's been pretty much awful for everybody so far (besides, you know, Neymar being awesome and bringing in a ton of revenue for Barca and Santos receiving a pile of cash). Barcelona were investigated for tax fraud in regards to the deal, and are alleged to have paid more than they claimed they did.
Neymar, for his part, has also been investigated for tax fraud, and currently has much of his assets frozen in Brazil.
Hopefully these issues will be settled, but in the meantime Santos have a cool €2 million to play with.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
