Lionel Messi faces a court trial for tax evasion after a judge in Gava, near the Argentine’s home on the outskirts of Barcelona, rejected a claim that the superstar’s father Jorge should be held responsible for his finances.
The saga has been dragging on for more than a year and relates to money earned by Messi on image rights between 2007 and 2009.
During that period the Barca star held lucrative personal endorsement contracts with a series of major corporations including Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Danone, Proctor and Gamble and the Kuwait Food Company. He is accused of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of up to ¤4 million (Dh18.4m) by basing those commercial activities in offshore companies in Uruguay and Belize, when the assets should have been declared in Spain.
Messi has already appeared in court to state that he was not aware of how his business arrangements were being managed, and he was hoping to avoid further personal involvement in the case.
The star player and his father also made a payment in the region of ¤5m (Dh23m) – the amount owed plus interest – in a bid to end the case, but that attempt now appears to have failed.
The technicalities of the case revolve around the question of exactly how much knowledge Messi had at the time over the management of his image rights, and the magistrate in Gava rejected Messi’s appeal that he was completely in the dark over the details of his earnings.
“In this type of crime, it is not necessary for someone to have complete knowledge of all the accounting and business operations nor the exact quantity,” he said, adding that it is irrelevant whether Messi was managing his affairs or only loosely aware of his father’s business plans.
“It is sufficient to be aware of the designs to commit fraud and consent to them.”
Messi and his father have been given five days to appeal against the ruling and it is not yet known when further court proceedings will take place.
The duo made no immediate comment but they are believed to be surprised by the decision and have instructed their lawyer, Cristobal Martel, to launch an appeal early next week.
The issue of football clubs and players meeting their tax obligations is a hot topic in Spain, with Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro earlier this week saying: “Football should not be financed by all Spaniards.”
