An investigating magistrate today ruled that the 27-year-old must stand trial over three counts of tax evasion alongside his father Jorge Messi, who is his agent, over the alleged offences between 2007 and 2009.

Prosecutors had agreed to drop the charges after Messi’s father paid the court £3.9m in a bid to settle the dispute with the Spanish taxman and agreed that he was in charge of the finances and said only he should stand trial.

But the Spanish Treasury refused to drop the case and a magistrate sitting in Gava, just outside Barcelona, ordered the footballer to also stand trial.The four-time Fifa World Footballer of the Year is accused of failing to pay tax on earnings from image rights.
The magistrate ruled that it is possible Messi “may have known about and consented to the evasion of tax.”

And he said the footballer must stand trial “if there are indications that Lionel Messi may have known and consented to the evasion.”

The judge said “it is not necessary for someone to have complete knowledge of all the accounting and business operations” to be accused of tax evasion.

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