A Spanish judge has summoned
Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi
to appear in court on 17 September
over tax fraud allegations.
The 25-year-old Argentine, who has
four times been named World Player
of the Year, and his father are
accused of defrauding the Spanish
authorities of more than 4m euros
(£3.4m).
They are suspected of using
companies abroad - in Belize and
Uruguay - to sell the rights to use
Messi's image.
They both deny the allegations.
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.
The player and his father, Jorge, are
accused of three times defrauding
the Spanish state of taxes.
The income related to his image
rights included contracts with Banco
Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-
Cola, Proctor and Gamble and the
Kuwait Food Company.
If he is convicted, Messi could face up
to six years in prison and a big fine,
according to Spain's Efe news
agency.
He wrote on his Facebook page, after
the allegations became known last
week: "We have never committed any
infringement. We have always
fulfilled all our tax obligations."
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.
He was ranked 10th among Forbes'
list of sports stars' incomes this
month.
The president of Barcelona FC,
Sandro Rosell, has said the club has
no doubt that the superstar is
innocent of tax avoidance.
Messi is due to play a prominent role
in the Adidas World Cup marketing
campaign.
Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer told
reporters that the company "will
continue to work with Lionel. He's
the best football player in the world
and we are happy that we have him".
But the allegations are a big blow to
the prestige of Messi, who has long
been seen as a more humble figure
than most top-class footballers.