Barcelona’s
Argentina forward Lionel Messi and his father have been accused by
Spanish tax authorities of defrauding the state of more than four
million euros ($5.3 million).
The
World Player of the Year and his father Jorge allegedly filed
fraudulent tax returns for the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009,
according to a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office for tax crimes in
Catalonia.
A Barca spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Messi,
who will be 26 this month, is one of the world’s highest-paid athletes
with a salary of just over $20 million a season, according to Forbes
magazine.
