Sport Strategy

  • Home
  • New Sport England Strategy

Barcelona star Lionel Messi denies allegations he engaged in tax fraud worth more than 4 million

Posted by sportman  Published in sport news

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi denied stunning allegations on Wednesday that he and his father engaged in tax fraud worth more than four million euros ($A5.68 million).

The 25-year-old Argentina international and four-time World Player of the year expressed shock at the accusation by Spanish financial crimes prosecutors.

“We are surprised about this news because we have never committed any infringement,” the striker said in an English-language statement released on his Facebook account.

“We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advice of our tax consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation,” Messi said.

The player said he had just heard of the move against him through the media.

Messi and his father Jorge Horacio Messi were accused of fiddling the taxes in a legal filing lodged by financial crimes prosecutor Raquel Amado, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

“It is all a mistake, you have to speak about this to the tax experts and lawyers who need to clear it up,” the player’s father told Spanish sports daily AS.

“I don’t understand what is going on. I don’t manage these matters, I am resident in Argentina,” he said.

The father said he had not spoken to his son about the reports. “I don’t need to since it is a mistake. Why would I shock him?”

The allegations were filed in a court in Catalonia, where Messi is resident, but judges could yet refuse to let it proceed, a judicial source told AFP.

If it were to go ahead, it would represent a huge blow to the prestige of Messi, who has long been seen as a more humble figure than most top-class footballers and particularly his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi’s achievements on the field have made him one of the most marketable sportsmen in the world and was this month ranked 10th amongst Forbes’ list of sports stars’ incomes with an annual $21m from endorsements alone.

The player and his father are accused of three crimes of defrauding the state of taxes related to income from the use of his image from 2006-2009.

The allegations centre on tax declarations made in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The striker and his father aimed to “deceive” the taxman by ceding Messi’s image rights to companies based in tax havens such as Belize and Uruguay, the prosecutor’s complaint said.

They drew up deals related to his image rights in Britain and Switzerland, ensuring that the income went straight to the tax havens without any tax being paid, it said.

Messi and his father acted with “total opaqueness” towards the Spanish authorities, the filing said.

The complaint lodged with the court in Gava, near Barcelona, accused them of defrauding the state of 1.06 million euros in 2007, 1.57 million euros in 2008, and 1.53 million euros in 2009.

The father was accused of being the brains behind the scheme, allegedly setting it up in 2005 before his son turned 18 on June 24 of that year.

The prosecutor said Messi later agreed with his father’s tactics so that he would avoid any taxes on income from the use of his image rights during the period.

The income related to his image rights included contracts with FC Barcelona, Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Kuwait Food Company.

Messi’s net income from image rights amounted to 2.56 million euros in 2007, 3.82 million euros in 2008 and 3.80 million euros in 2009, the complaint said.

Related Articles

  • Indonesia Open 2013 – Day 3: Hidayat’s Swansong Ends on Losing Note (June 12th, 2013)
  • Australia’s David Warner dropped after late-night attack on Joe Root (June 12th, 2013)
  • The Socceroos edge one step closer to Brazil in 2014 with a 4-0 win over Jordan in Melbourne (June 12th, 2013)
  • Australia’s Champions Trophy clash against New Zealand abandoned due to rain at Edgbaston (June 12th, 2013)
  • Ikin See Clearly: five things Fox Sports’ Ben Ikin is looking forward to most in round 14 of NRL (June 12th, 2013)

No user responded in this post

Subscribe to this post comment rss or trackback url

football

  • Pc-service.kz

    pc-service.kz

    pc-service.kz

  • Ремонт корпуса ноутбука

    Ремонт корпуса ноутбука

    matricy.kz

Categories

  • About Golf
  • Different
  • Old sport articles
  • sport news

Recent Posts

  • Kostya Tszyu’s boxers go under hammer
  • Vital Golf Swing Movement Brings Success – Auto Recovery
  • Pro Football’s NFL – The Largest American Pro Football League Has Significant Rivalries
  • Spartak puts UEFA Cup playoffs dream in question
  • Swimsuits – The Best Friends In Summer
  • My Favorite Movies Journal
  • Fishing By Moon Phase: Increase Your Catch
  • Why We Play Games, Part 2
  • Choosing a Golf Club
  • The Up-Side of Driving Motor Scooters
  • The forgotten story of … David Graham’s US Open victory at Merion

Recent Post

  • Kostya Tszyu’s boxers go under hammer
  • Vital Golf Swing Movement Brings Success – Auto Recovery
  • Pro Football’s NFL – The Largest American Pro Football League Has Significant Rivalries
  • Spartak puts UEFA Cup playoffs dream in question
  • Swimsuits – The Best Friends In Summer
  • My Favorite Movies Journal
  • Fishing By Moon Phase: Increase Your Catch
  • Why We Play Games, Part 2
  • Choosing a Golf Club
  • The Up-Side of Driving Motor Scooters

Recent Comments

  • Keine Kommentare vorhanden.
© 2023 Sport Strategy