For a moment, it seemed like Lionel Messi was going to get away with it. Even the Spanish prosecutors were trying to get Messi off the hook for tax fraud, preferring instead go just after his father Jorge Horacio Messi, who manages the superstar's $180 million net worth. But now the judge in charge of the case has ordered that Messi also make an appearance in court, according to El Pais. This time, Messi faces a maximum sentence of 22 months in jail with a payment of $4.6 million.While reports are saying that the judge is likely to just go after the $4.6 million that Messi owes in taxes, the judge would be within his legal rights to sentence both Messi and his father to jail time. Horacio is accused of running large sums of Messi's money through offshore companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid taxation, which is both illegal and an extremely bad look in a country struggling economically as Spain is.Messi and his father's lawyers argued that Messi had "never devoted a minute of his life to reading, studying, or analyzing" the advertising contracts Messi signed in 2007-09, which pertain to the fraud claims, according to El Pais.Messi is not the only Barcelona star to make recent news about tax fraud. Last month, Neymar had $48 million in assets frozen while under investigation by Brazilian authorities. Whether or not there are some sweet tax fraud secrets being swapped in the Barça locker room, at least Messi is already primed with some sick jailhouse tats. Prison-yard pickup games during his (unlikely) time inside are going to be fun.
Advertisement