Spanish prosecutors have cleared Lionel Messi of tax fraud charges, but his father could go to prison.
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In the documents made public on Tuesday, prosecutors also called for a fine of $2.2m for the father of the Argentina playmaker.
Messi’s lawyers argued that the player had “never devoted a minute of his life to reading, studying or analysing” the contracts, El Pais newspaper reported.
In June, the high court in Barcelona ruled Messi should not be granted impunity for not knowing how his finances were being used, but he will now no longer face charges.
Jorge Messi had previously taken full responsibility, Sport adds, and the Prosecutor believes Messi’s lack of knowledge of his financial affairs was not meant to defraud the tax office.
Lionel Messi raises his his hands up to celebrate a goal.
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Messi and his father had already paid a voluntary €5 million “corrective payment” back in 2013, but that hasn’t been enough to make all of this messiness go away. According to BBC, the income is in relation to deals with “Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company”.
