Lionel Messi must face $5.58M tax fraud charge - court

A Spanish court on Monday turned down a request by public prosecutors to drop the charges of tax fraud against four-time world footballer of the year Lionel Messi. The probe, the court insisted, must go on.

The Barca star and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, were accused last year of evading $5.58 million in tax on earnings from the player’s image rights from 2007-2009 through the creation of a web of shell companies in Belize and Uruguay. It was reported that during that period, Messi earned more than 10 million euros in image rights.

But in September last year during questioning, both Messi and his father denied any wrongdoing but instead, accused.

Based on the Messis’ testimony, public prosecutors requested that the case be struck out but the court has now rejected the request stressing that Messi “could have known and consented” to the tax fraud.

According to a June ranking by Forbes magazine, Messi is the fourth richest sportsman in the world with an annual income close to $65 million.

The court case has however not stopped Messi from leading advertising campaigns for brands like Adidas and video games maker EA Sports.