MADRID: A Spanish judge is irritated that Chelsea and Manchester City have apparently ignored his demand that they state how much they offered Santos originally for Brazil superstar Neymar.

Judge Jose de la Mata, from the Spanish High Court, is trying to uncover the truth in the tax evasion case against Barcelona, former president Sandro Rosell and his successor Josep Bartomeu.

The judge is trying to resolve the overall valuation of the player two years ago when Barcelona clinched his signature from Santos in a deal whose value has escalated with almost every court session and newly-uncovered contract.

On June 17 the judge requested that the two English clubs, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich provided “copies of bids or proposals for a transfer” between 2009 and 2013.

Real Madrid said they had offered €45m while Bayern said they never submitted any formal offer.

No response had been received from the two English clubs, so Judge De la Mata issue a repetition of his request.

According to his latest assessment Neymar’s transfer cost €83.3m, significantly more than the fee of €57.1m stated originally by Rosell. The prosecution has claimed the fee, including secret contracts to other parties, amounted to €94.8m.

The case was opened after a complaint filed by Organizaçao DIS-Esportes Event, which claimed it owned 40pc of Neymar.

Defendants include not only Barcelona and their past and present presidents but Santos, the player’s father Neymar Da Silva, the president of the Brazilian club Odilo Rodriguez and his predecessor Luis Alvaro de Olieira.

The prosecution has sought a prison term of two years three months for Bartomeu and seven and a half years for Rosell.

** The prosecution has asked for 18 months in prison and a fine of €2m for Jorge Messi, father of Barcelona striker Lionel Messi, over a €4.1m tax fraud. The player has been cleared.

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