Both father and son at first denied the accusations and laid the blame on a former financial advisor. Prosecutors had called for an 18-month prison sentence for the player’s father.
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“FC Barcelona to give “full support” to Leo Messi”, they also wrote on Twitter.
They are being accused of defrauding Spain’s tax office of 4.1 million euros ($4.6 million) in unpaid taxes from 2007-09.
The team released a statement to the Guardian expressing their support for Messi and charging the state attorney’s judgement after prosecutors have already cleared the 28-year-old of any charges.
Messi’s lawyers have argued that the player had “never devoted a minute of his life to reading, studying or analysing” the contracts, El Pais newspaper have reported.
Lionel Messi has been a resident in Barcelona since 2000 and gained Spanish citizenship in 2005.
It also said he could have approved the creation of a web of shell companies which were allegedly used to evade taxes on income from image rights.
Either interpretation, coupled with Messi’s pose in the photo, could lead to the conclusion that he’s sending a message of defiance to those trying to bring him down via the courts.
Messi’s legal case is not the only one affecting Barcelona.
The club itself was charged a year ago with tax fraud in the signing of Neymar from Brazilian club Santos and paid €16.3 million in what it called a “complementary tax declaration”.
Lionel Messi has given his seal of approval for compatriot Paulo Dybala, after the Juventus striker made Gerardo Martino’s latest Argentina squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay this month.
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“They are damaging to the smooth running of the club, its stability and that of the players that form part of it”.
