Barcelona star Lionel Messi’s lawyers said Friday they “firmly believe” the Argentine player, who is accused of avoiding paying tax on income generated from the sale of his image rights, is innocent.
The 25-year-old four-time World Player of the Year and his father Jorge Horacio were ordered by a Spanish court on Thursday to appear for questioning in September as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud.
Spanish financial crimes prosecutors accuse Messi and his father of defrauding the tax office of over four million euros ($5 million, 3.4 million) in income related to the use of his image from 2006-2009.
“We firmly believe in the innocence of our client,” Messi’s lawyers office, Juarez Veciana, said in a statement.
“We are confident that we will be able to clarify this disparity in criteria and we regret that the honour of our client, who scrupulously complies with Spanish legislation, is being questioned,” it added.
“We declare that our customer will pay any amount that he is eventually found to owe but we believe that our client has already paid what he was legally obliged.”
The accusations of tax fraud are a huge blow to the prestige of Messi, who has long been seen as a more humble figure than most top-class footballers — in particular his fierce Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
If convicted Messi and his father could face a jail term of between one to five years and a fine equal to six times the amount that was found to have been defrauded, said Carlos Cruzado, a lawyer and president of Treasury Ministry trade union Gestha.