The player himself assures that the reason for the termination of the contract lies solely in the commercial plane.
The message that Nike terminates the contractual relationship with football star Neymar da Silva Santos Jr., who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, appeared back in August 2020. However, the reason for the gap was not called then, the company chose not to talk about why this happened, although until the end of the contract There were still about eight years left.
Now it became known that Nike conducted its own investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment against the Brazilian athlete, and it was the results of the investigation that caused the termination of the contract. This is with reference to sources close to the brand and received documents, writes The Wall Street Journal.
The incident that became the subject of the investigation occurred back in 2016. A Nike employee who was sexually harassed by Neymar in a New York hotel room came forward in 2018 with a formal complaint. An official investigation was launched in 2019. Based on its results, it was decided to terminate the contract, an important role in this was played by the fact that the athlete himself refused to participate in the investigation. At the same time, Neymar officially denies all allegations and claims that the break with Nike occurred solely for commercial reasons.
According to Hilary Crane, Nike's general counsel, the company has not previously discussed the matter publicly because it has not been able to provide supporting evidence. At the time of the termination of the contract, the investigation had not yet been completed.
Until the split in August 2020, Neymar was the face of Nike in South America, with his own signature shoe and apparel collections, and was among the highest paid athletes the brand has partnered with. In early September 2020, two weeks after the termination of the contract with Nike, the athlete signed an agreement with another brand of sports training - Puma, which has since released a special model of sneakers with the name of a football player.
