Neymar ‘tried to force female employee to perform oral sex on him in hotel room’ before his mammoth $105MN Nike deal ended early

An intoxicated Neymar took off his underwear and tried to force a Nike employee who had helped him to his hotel room to perform oral sex on him, according to the details of an alleged incident said to have taken place in New York.

The sportswear giant, which did not publicly detail why it prematurely ended its huge deal with the world's most expensive footballer last year, is said to have told a report that Neymar failed to "co-operate in a good faith" with an investigation into the accusations, which related to a purported encounter in 2016.

Then at Barcelona, Neymar is claimed to have made the invitation to the long-time Nike employee – who is said to have helped co-ordinate logistics for the striker and his entourage, including a visit to a Michael Jordan event and a nightclub – after she was left alone with him in his room.

The woman had allegedly been one of two employees tasked with taking Neymar to his room, only to have been blocked by him from leaving before he chased her down the hotel hallway while he was still undressed, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Neymar's spokeswoman told the outlet that the Paris Saint-Germain superstar denies the allegation. "Neymar Jr. will vigorously defend himself against these baseless attacks in case any claim is presented, which did not happen so far,” she said in a statement, adding that her client split from Nike for commercial reasons.

The report said that the employee shared the incident with numerous friends, relatives and employees in the weeks that followed, making a complaint in 2018 when other women in the company came forward to discuss experiences of harassment and discrimination as part of a survey about the treatment of women at the company, according to documents and accounts.

In June 2019, another woman accused Neymar of rape at a Paris hotel a month earlier, with the former Ballon d'Or contender saying that his encounter with the Brazilian model was consensual and accusing her of attempting to extort him.

Brazilian authorities dropped the investigation, citing a lack of evidence, and subsequently charged the model with slander, extortion and procedural fraud, later dismissing the slander and extortion charges and acquitting her of fraud. A spokeswoman for her said she stands by her original account of the alleged incident.

Shortly after the Brazilian model made her public allegation, the Nike employee approached Hilary Krane, Nike’s general counsel, and Monique Matheson, the head of Nike’s human resources department, to ask for an update about the complaint she made about Neymar a year earlier, according to the people and documents.

Nike executives are said to have told the employee they had not taken any action because they had been under the impression she did not want them to.

Nike’s marketing contract with Neymar had another eight years remaining, the Journal quoted a source with knowledge of the details as saying. The report said that Nike hired lawyers at Cooley LLP to start an investigation that began in 2019, opting to stop him featuring in marketing while the probe was underway.

“Nike ended its relationship with the athlete because he refused to co-operate in a good faith investigation of credible allegations of wrongdoing by an employee,” Krane told the Journal, adding that “no single set of facts emerged that would enable us to speak substantively on the matter" and "it would be inappropriate for Nike to make an accusatory statement without being able to provide supporting facts.”

“As her employer, we had a responsibility to respect her privacy and did not believe it was appropriate to share that information with law enforcement or any third party without the employee’s consent," she said of the initial contact.

“In 2019, when the employee later expressed interest in pursuing the matter, we acted immediately. From the very beginning, we have treated the employee’s allegations and her experience with great seriousness.”

The report quoted Neymar's spokeswoman as responding: “It is very strange that a case that was supposed to have happened in 2016, with allegations by a Nike employee, come to light only at that moment.

“Similar to the sexual assault allegations made against him in 2019 – allegations which the Brazilian authorities found Neymar Jr innocent of – these allegations are false.”

Some of the people referenced in the report are said to have claimed that Neymar disputed the woman’s account during the investigation but refused to be personally interviewed by Nike’s representatives.

Cooley lawyer Amanda Main said the firm “conducted an extensive and thorough investigation, both within the company and through external sources.”

Interviews are said to have been conducted with witnesses including Nike employees, and the documents reportedly show that Nike helped the employee retain counsel while agreeing to pay her legal fees.

The woman is said to have asked Nike executives to tell the public that Neymar’s behavior didn’t "align with its values" and start enforcing morality clauses in athlete contracts alongside a code of conduct for endorsement deals.

Neymar signed a deal with Puma in September 2020. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment to the Jounal, with an attorney for the Nike employee failing to respond to requests for comment from the reporter.