Ex-Barca boss Sandro Rosell acquitted of money laundering

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Former Barcelona football club president Sandro Rosell has been acquitted of charges related to a probe into money laundering, according to a Spanish court document.

Rosell, 55, had previously lived and worked in Brazil, where he forged business links. Rosell, his wife and four others, were accused of "large-scale money laundering" of close to 20 million euros (23 million U.S. dollars) since 2006, relating to television rights and sponsorship deals linked to Brazil's national soccer team.

But the National Court, which handles major criminal cases, said it had acquitted all six accused because "after evaluating the evidence presented during the trial, the accusations were not proven."

"It's great news that puts things in their place," Rosell's lawyer Pau Molins told reporters after the ruling was issued.

Sandro Rosell attends the Barcelona Open at Real Club de Tennis de Barcelona, April 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

Prosecutors had initially called for the ex-Barca boss to be jailed for 11 years but during the trial they reduced this request to six years.

Rosell was arrested in May 2017 but given conditional release in February 2019 just after the start of his trial.

He resigned as president of Barcelona in 2014 after Spain's High Court began investigating irregularities in the way the club signed Brazilian player Neymar. He had denied any wrongdoing in that case.

(With input from Reuters and AFP)