Taxman targets
CONVICTED Lionel Messi
The five-time world player of the year was sentenced last July to 21 months in prison, confirmed on appeal, for avoiding paying taxes on 4.16 million euros ($4.6 million) of his income earned from his image rights from 2007-09.
The prison sentence has been suspended for the 29-year-old superstar, as is the norm in Spain for first offenses for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years.
Javier Mascherano
Messi’s Barcelona and Argentina teammate Mascherano accepted a one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after he was found guilty of failing to pay 1.5 million euros in taxes for 2011 and 2012.
Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to the charge.
Uli Hoeness
President of German giant Bayern Munich, Hoeness was sentenced to three and a half years behind bars after being convicted in March 2014 of having evaded paying at least 28.5 million euros in taxes.
He was released from prison in February 2016 after serving 21 months of his sentence. In November 2016 he was reinstated as Bayern president.
Romario
In 2009, Brazilian 1994 world champion Romario de Souza Faria was sentenced to two and a half years of community service and fined 391,000 reales ($117,000) for tax fraud by a Rio de Janeiro court.
Despite his debts and legal woes, Romario then entered politics, and was elected to Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies in 2010 before becoming a senator four years later.
SUSPECTED Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid star Ronaldo is accused of evading 14.7 million euros in tax, and is to appear before a judge in Spain on July 31.
The Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies between 2011 and 2014.
Jose Mourinho
Manchester United manager Mourinho is accused of evading 3.3 million euros in tax in 2011 and 2012, during his time in charge of Real Madrid. Like Ronaldo, Mourinho is a client of Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes.
Neymar
Brazil star Neymar, who also plays for Barcelona, faces corruption charges in connection with the terms of his transfer from Brazilian club Santos in 2013.
In November 2016, a Spanish prosecutor called for Neymar to face two years in prison and be fined 10 million euros.
Brazilian justice officials have frozen some of his assets, estimated at 43.5 million euros, while they determine if the forward did not declare a payment of 10 million euros by Barcelona to obtain preferential rights to his service.
Samuel Eto’o
In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought a jail sentence of more than 10 years and fines totaling 18 million euros for Cameroonian great Eto’o, who is accused of failing to pay 3.9 million euros in taxes during his time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Other soccer players who have passed through Barca, including Brazil’s Adriano Correia and Chile’s Alexis Sanchez, now of Arsenal, have had similar legal woes.
Radamel Falcao
Colombia and Monaco striker Falcao is suspected of failing to correctly declare 5.6 million euros earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while he was at Atletico Madrid.
His agent is Mendes, who has been summoned before a Spanish court as part of the probe.
Diego Maradona
In 2005, Argentine legend Maradona was ordered to pay 37.2 million euros for tax fraud by Italy’s top court. An Italian court in November 2012 admitted there had been a procedural error in the investigation and ordered a new inquiry, which is ongoing.
“I want to return to Italy as a gentleman because I never stole anything from anyone,” the former Napoli star once said. Maradona, now 56, scored 115 goals in 259 matches for Napoli from 1984-91.