Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Neymar accuses Nike of 'absurd lie' as brand drops him for 'not cooperating in sex assault inquiry'

Neymar accuses Nike of 'absurd lie' as brand drops him for 'not cooperating in sex assault inquiry'

The world's most expensive player denies the allegations, which follow his split from the sportswear firm last year.

Neymar has accused Nike of telling "an absurd lie" after the sportswear giant said it had ended its tie-up with the football star because he refused to cooperate with an investigation into claims that he sexually assaulted an employee from the company.

The Brazilian, who became the world's most expensive player when he signed for Paris St German for €222m in 2017, denies the allegations, his spokeswoman said.

Nike, the world's biggest sportswear maker, had previously not given a reason for terminating its deal with Neymar.

Nike is the world's biggest sportswear maker


He had been signed with the company for 15 years.

In a statement, Nike said it viewed the allegations about an incident in 2016 as "credible" but also said that an investigation it had commissioned was inconclusive.

"No single set of facts emerged that would enable us to speak substantively on the matter," Nike said.

"It would be inappropriate for Nike to make an accusatory statement without being able to provide supporting facts.

"Nike ended its relationship with the athlete because he refused to cooperate in a good faith investigation of credible allegations of wrongdoing by an employee."

Neymar's spokeswoman said he would defend himself vigorously against any claim, describing the allegations as baseless and adding that the endorsement deal ended for commercial reasons.

"It is very strange a case that was supposed to have happened in 2016, with allegations by a Nike employee, come to light only at that moment," her statement said.

Neymar signed a deal with Puma last year


The statements came after a Wall Street journal report into the investigation.

Nike said a female employee officially reported the incident to the company in 2018 though at the time it respected her right to keep the matter confidential and did not investigate until she expressed an interest in 2019 in legally pursuing the matter.

Neymar signed up with rival sportswear firm Puma in September. Puma declined to comment.

Neymar was separately accused of rape in a Paris hotel in 2019.

The player said the encounter with the woman, a Brazilian model, was consensual and accused her of attempting to extort him.

Brazilian authorities dropped that investigation citing lack of evidence and later charged the model with slander, extortion and fraud.

The slander and extortion charges were later dropped and she was acquitted of the fraud charge last year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×