Sports / Soccer
Messi 'knew nothing'
03 Jun 2016 at 06:37hrs | Views
Argentina football star Lionel Messi said yesterday he trusted his father with his finances and "knew nothing" about how his wealth was managed as he took the stand at his tax fraud trial.
"I was playing football. I had no idea about anything," the five-time World Player of the Year told the Barcelona court hearing the case. "I trusted my dad and my lawyers," the 28-year-old, who wore a black suit and tie, added on the third day of the trial.
Messi and his father Jorge Horacio Messi are accused of using a chain of fake companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on 4.16 million euros ($4.6 million) of Messi's income earned through the sale of his image rights from 2007-09.
The income related to Messi's image rights that was allegedly hidden and includes endorsement deals with Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble and the Kuwait Food Company.
"All I knew was that we signed agreements with certain sponsors, for 'X' amount of money and that I had to do adverts, photos and those things but about the money and where it went I knew nothing," Messi told the court.
The Barcelona forward and his defence team have long argued that Messi's father handled the footballer's finances without reporting to him, and the striker was not aware of any wrongdoing.
Messi's former tax advisors told the court on Wednesday the football star never handed his own wealth management.
Both Messi and his father, who has managed his son's affairs since he was a child, have been charged with three counts of tax fraud.
Spanish prosecutors are seeking a jail sentence of 22-and-a-half months for them if they are found guilty, plus fines equivalent to the amount that was allegedly defrauded.
But any such sentence would likely be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences carrying a sentence of less than two years.
"I was playing football. I had no idea about anything," the five-time World Player of the Year told the Barcelona court hearing the case. "I trusted my dad and my lawyers," the 28-year-old, who wore a black suit and tie, added on the third day of the trial.
Messi and his father Jorge Horacio Messi are accused of using a chain of fake companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on 4.16 million euros ($4.6 million) of Messi's income earned through the sale of his image rights from 2007-09.
The income related to Messi's image rights that was allegedly hidden and includes endorsement deals with Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble and the Kuwait Food Company.
"All I knew was that we signed agreements with certain sponsors, for 'X' amount of money and that I had to do adverts, photos and those things but about the money and where it went I knew nothing," Messi told the court.
The Barcelona forward and his defence team have long argued that Messi's father handled the footballer's finances without reporting to him, and the striker was not aware of any wrongdoing.
Messi's former tax advisors told the court on Wednesday the football star never handed his own wealth management.
Both Messi and his father, who has managed his son's affairs since he was a child, have been charged with three counts of tax fraud.
Spanish prosecutors are seeking a jail sentence of 22-and-a-half months for them if they are found guilty, plus fines equivalent to the amount that was allegedly defrauded.
But any such sentence would likely be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences carrying a sentence of less than two years.
Source - AFP
