Lionel Messi appears in Spanish court over tax fraud

Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi has
appeared before a Spanish judge as part of
a tax fraud investigation.

The 26-year-old Argentine, four times Fifa
World Player of the Year, and his father Jorge
Messi are accused of defrauding the
authorities of more than 4m euros ($5.4m;
£3.4m).
The two men were questioned separately at the
court in Gava, near Barcelona.
Both father and son deny the allegations. The
Messis' lawyer said he wanted to resolve the
matter.
The footballer and his father are suspected of
using companies abroad - in Belize and
Uruguay - to sell the rights to use Lionel
Messi's image, thereby circumventing tax
obligations in Spain. The allegations date back
to 2007-9.
The income related to Mr Messi's image rights
included contracts with Banco Sabadell,
Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Proctor and
Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company.
'Tougher line'
After Friday's hearing, which was a closed-
court session, the state prosecutor's
spokesman told the BBC that no agreement
had been reached with the two men and their
lawyers.
The spokesman said that the defence's strategy
had been to pin blame on Jorge Messi,
insisting on the innocence of the star striker.
In August, Jorge Messi made a payment of 5m
euros to the tax authorities - the 4.16m euros
of the alleged unpaid tax plus interest.
The BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid says that
Spanish tax authorities are taking a much
tougher line on tax infringements due to the
country's economic crisis, which is why they
are continuing to pursue the case despite this
payment.
Lionel Messi has previously stated that he and
and his father "have never committed any
infringement. We have always fulfilled all our
tax obligations".

'Humble'
Mr Messi's net salary from Barcelona is said to
be about 16m euros a year, making him one of
the world's most highly paid sportspeople.
He has also signed multi-million-dollar
endorsements with commercial sponsors
around the world.
Mr Messi's achievements on the field have
made him one of the most marketable in the
business.
He came from a modest background and has
overcome a serious health issue, joining
Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000 and
making his first-team debut only three years
later.
But the allegations are a big blow to the
prestige of the player, who has long been seen
as a more humble figure than most top-class
footballers.