The Economic Crime Unit of Barcelona has accused Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, and his father, of tax fraud between 2007 and 2009, which could potentially land them in jail. According to the prosecution, Messi’s father, who is also his manager and agent, created shell corporations in tax havens and then transferred his son’s imaging rights between 2007 and 2009, only to sign further deals with other shell-corporations to avoid paying taxes on €4.165 million ($5.53 million) in income.
A troubling accusation for the world’s best soccer player, and the sport’s foremost star. Messi, who netted $41.3 million in the year to June and was the world’s tenth-highest-paid athlete, must prove that his father didn’t engage in a complicated scheme to hide his earnings from Spanish tax authorities, where he currently resides.
In a letter signed by Messi’s “legal and fiscal council,” lawyer Angel Juarez rejected the accusations, noting he is responsible for the star’s tax filing and adding they will take all the proper legal steps to put the situation to rest. Juarez confirmed they hadn’t been contacted by the prosecution.
Leave a Reply