FIFA will take no action in the dispute between Barcelona and Neymar over an unpaid loyalty bonus, football’s world governing body has announced.

The Brazilian star lodged a complaint with FIFA against his former club when they refused to pay him a 26million euro (£23million) bonus which was included in the last contract he signed with the Spanish giants in November 2016.

The 26-year-old, however, left Barcelona last summer when Paris St Germain stunned world football by triggering his £200million buy-out clause – a move that provoked fury in Barcelona.

As well as not paying Neymar the loyalty bonus he believes he is owed, the Catalan club have started legal proceedings against him in Barcelona to claw back the £8million he received when he signed his five-year extension in 2016.

FIFA, however, has decided to stay out of this row, as it is already being dealt with by the Spanish courts.

A spokesman said: “After having been made aware that, apparently, the same matter had been submitted in parallel before different jurisdictions by the same party, the FIFA administration informed the parties to the dispute that based on the long-standing and well-established jurisprudence of FIFA’s deciding bodies, it did not seem to be in a position to continue with the investigation of the affair.

“The proceedings were therefore closed for formal reasons.”