I thought Neymar's father was my friend, but I'd accelerate if he stepped out in front of my car

Posted Monday, October 20, 2014 by Marca.com

A Brazilian court has ordered former Santos president, Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro to pay 20,000 Reales (about 6,437) in damages to Neymar da Silva, the father of the FC Barcelona player for defamation of character and loss of reputation.

"There is no doubt that he used deliberate insults and adjectives on a widely-viewed sports network to call Neymar's father's character into question", read the sentence from the Sao Paulo court in charge of the case.

De Oliveira Ribeiro told ESPN in May that Neymar da Silva was "a mercenary, untrustworthy and a liar", alleging that some of the money he received for his son's move to Barcelona was used to pay for orgies at London's Piccadilly Hotel.

"I thought Neymar's father was my friend, but I wouldn't want him to walk out in front of my car, because I'd accelerate instead of braking. I wouldn't shake his hand and if I did offer it to him it'd be to slap him", said the former president of Santos, from where Barcelona signed their star.

Neymar's father's lawyers alleged that De Oliveira Ribeiro deliberately "affronted and defamed the player's father in the national media, with the intention of personally insulting him and calling his honour into question".