(Author’s note: This is not the last word on Messi. On October 8, a judge ruled that despite the prosecution’s actions, the case will move forward. More here.)
Soccer fans in Barcelona can finally breathe a sigh of relief: prosecutors in Spain have dropped criminal charges against footballer Lionel Messi.
It’s a dramatic turnabout from earlier this year when a Spanish court confirmed that Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, remained under investigation on tax fraud charges and would face trial.
According to the complaint filed in 2013, Messi’s father initiated a scheme using a series of shell companies in tax havens to shield royalties and other licensing income from Spanish income tax. Income from lucrative contracts with such companies as Pepsi-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and Adidas were allegedly funneled to Belize and Uruguay through an elaborate maze including the U.K. and Switzerland. The scheme reportedly allowed the pair to avoid paying nearly €4.165 million ($5.5 million U.S.) in tax.
After the charges were made public, Messi took steps to clear the tax debt, making a “corrective payment” of €5 million ($6.57 million U.S.). That did not, however, discourage prosecutors from continuing to pursue charges.
Messi has maintained all along that he was innocent. If he had been convicted, Messi could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison and subject to a fine of up to €24 million ($31 million U.S.). That would be crushing for the four-time FIFA Player of the Year, considered by many to be the best player in the world.
Authorities have now conceded that Messi was out of the loop when it came to his financial affairs. Instead, they charge that Messi’s father took care of “the management of the economic interests” of Messi while he was a minor and continued to do so after Messi reached the age of majority. Messi had advised that he did not read contracts, telling the judge, “Si lo dice mi papá firmo con los ojos cerrados” or, “If my father told me to sign, I did with my eyes closed.”
Messi’s father confirmed that to be the case, saying “Lionel never had access to contracts or information.”
Those contracts made Messi a very rich man. At just 28 years old, he earned $74 million last year landing him at #13 on Forbes’ Celebrity 100 (up from #45 in 2014) and at #4 on Forbes’ list of World’s Highest Paid Athletes (behind boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao and fellow footballer Cristiano Ronaldo).
The case, however, is not closed. The prosecutor has recommended that charges move ahead against Messi’s father, Jorge Horacio Messi, for his role in evading tax related to his son’s finances. If Horacio Messi is found guilty, he could be sentenced to 18 months in prison (six months for each offense) and be subject to a fine of €2 million ($2.25 million U.S.). Messi is expected to be asked to be a witness at his father’s trial.
The news has to be welcome in Barcelona which has seen its share of footballers tapped by taxing authorities in recent months. Just last month, a Brazilian judge charged that fellow FC Barcelona Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (Neymar) took steps to avoid reporting income and paying tax and ordered 188.8 million reals ($47.75 million U.S.) of Neymar’s assets frozen. Earlier this year, a Spanish Court found that there was enough evidence to charge Neymar’s club, FC Barcelona, club president Josep Bartomeu, and former club president Alexandre “Sandro” Rosell with tax evasion related to Neymar’s signing. And, just a few weeks ago, Spanish authorities announced an investigation into underpayments allegedly made by midfielder Javier Mascherano.
(For more on soccer stars accused of cheating on their taxes, check out the slideshow below.)
Notwithstanding its tax woes, FC Barcelona is thought to be worth $3.16 billion. Forbes ranks the team at #2 on its list of the World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams – just behind La Liga rival Real Madrid.
