There is no denying that LIONEL MESSI is having a crappy couple of weeks, Fresh off his emotional Retirement from international play, following a yet another loss to CHILE at last months, COPA America final, the Argentina and Barcelona footballer was handed a 21-month jail term for Defrauding the Spanish government.
The Barcelona court handed down the sentence after it Found messi and his father Jorge messi who oversees his finances were both convicted of cheating Spain of £4.1million ($4.5million) between 2007 and 2009. Messi was also fined £2-million, his father £1.5million, the pair will likely face further fines in the millions For using the havens in Uruguay and Belix to shield profits earned of image rights, according to the BBC, the pair have already made a voluntary £5million “corrective payment in 2013 covering unpaid taxes and interest.
While the decision can be appealed, neither the footballing star nor his father will face any jail term, under Spanish law, sentences two years can be served under probation. messi has insisted that he did not know anything about his tax situation and that he was simply concentrating on “playing football” at this he said “I signed what my father (Jorge messi) told me to sign because I trusted trusted my father”.
He also denied any involvement and told the historian in June 2016, that “I only worried about playing football” but in its decision on Wednesday, the court said “it defies logic to concur that someone who earns a huge income does not know that he must pay tax on it “They were also found guilty of resorting to fictitious companies to evade Spanish taxes on income from companies using messi’s image rights.
Jorge messi jail term was reduced from 21 months to 15 by the Supreme Court to take into account the money he had since handed to the tax authorities’ messi’s high profile trial is not the only one involving Barcelona stars and the Spanish government. Defender Javier
Mascherano also an Argentine was also convicted of tax fraud, he escaped a jail term with a one year suspended sentence also the Brazilian star Neymar is facing allegations of corruption and fraud over his transfer to Barcelona in 2013. A case which involves his parent prosecutors allege the transfer cost much more than publicly declared, and that millions were concealed from authorities and in the same week as messi’s sentence was upheld, former president of the club, SANDRO ROSSEL was arrested as part of a money –laundering investigation. This case has gathered huge attention overseas, where messi is a house hold name.
