FC Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano has pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud.
In a hearing that took a little more than ten minutes, Mascherano admitted that he failed to pay taxes on earnings for the years 2011 and 2012. Like many athletes before him, Mascherano’s tax woes can be tied to assigning image rights to companies located in alleged tax-havens.
The Argentine footballer had previously not admitted any wrongdoing but did settle an outstanding tax bill by paying €1.5 million ($1.69 million US) in taxes plus €200,000 ($225,860 US) in interest last year.
As punishment, Mascherano was fined €815,000 ($880,078 US) and sentenced to 12 months in prison (four months for the 2011 charges and eight months for the 2012 charges). The prison sentence is largely ceremonial. As a general rule, in Spain, those who are sentenced to light sentences won’t actually serve time unless the offense involves a violent crime or if the defendant is a habitual offender. This is at the discretion of the judge; in Mascherano’s case, the defense has asked that the prison term be suspended in exchange for an additional fine.
After the proceedings, Mascherano (@Mascherano) tweeted to his fans in Spanish and in English, saying “I’m a professional athlete, I have no extensive knowledge of legal and tax issues.” He went on to say “Throughout my career I was an honest and responsible person, respecting my teammates, the clubs that I represented and countries where I lived.” He referred to the proceedings as an “experience” that has left him stronger.
The full statement is here:
To my English speaking fans. pic.twitter.com/gtokftSxWp
— Javier Mascherano (@Mascherano) January 21, 2016
Mascherano initially signed with Barcelona in 2010 and re-upped his contract in 2014 through 2018. His most recent contract contains a buyout clause worth €100 million ($108 million US).
The drama may be a bit of foreshadowing for Mascherano’s teammate (and recent Ballon d’Or winner) Lionel Messi. Messi, Mascherano’s fellow Barca star, is charged with tax evasion by using tax havens to shield royalties and other licensing income from Spanish income tax. The scheme reportedly allowed the pair to avoid paying nearly €4.165 million ($4.5 million U.S.) in tax. Like Mascherano, Messi took steps to clear his debt by making “corrective payments.” That didn’t put an end to criminal charges, however: Messi’s trial is now scheduled to begin on May 31, 2016, which happens to interfere with the Copa America Centenario to be held in the United States. Messi’s lawyers are expected to ask that the trial be moved.
Messi and Mascherano join a list of FC Barcelona players facing scrutiny from tax authorities. The club, thought to be worth $3.16 billion (second on Forbes’ list of the World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams – just behind La Liga rival Real Madrid), is also expected to go to trial on tax fraud charges related to the signing of Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, known to most of the world simply as Neymar. The club president Josep Bartomeu, and former club president Alexandre “Sandro” Rosell, also face charges related to the transaction.
The team has denied any wrongdoing. The focus on the club has raised eyebrows, prompting the club’s Vice President Carles Vilarrubi, to remark, “There is a whole machine behind [these investigations] and I’m sure in the end it will turn out that Neymar was in Dallas the day Kennedy was shot.”
