Tax affairs land Messi in court
IDOLISED for his immense skill on the field, fourtime world footballer of the year Lionel Messi’s squeaky-clean image will come under scrutiny today when he faces charges of tax evasion.
IDOLISED for his immense skill on the field, four-time world footballer of the year Lionel Messi’s squeaky-clean image off the pitch will come under scrutiny today when he faces a judge on charges of tax evasion.
The Argentinean and his father Jorge Messi are due to appear in court today in the town of Gava near Barcelona, where the player resides, accused of evading tax on Messi’s image rights to the tune of €4.16m between 2006 and 2009.
Despite the court case, Messi’s form on the field has scarcely been affected, with the Barcelona forward scoring 10 goals in seven matches this season as the Spanish champions remain unbeaten.
“I am not worried, I’m always on the sidelines of all that, just like my dad. We have our lawyers and our advisers who handle these things. We trust in them and they will solve the issue,” Messi said back in July.
The case began in June when a prosecutor accused the Messis of evading tax by ceding the player’s image rights to “purely instrumental entities” in tax havens such as Belize and Uruguay.
According to the prosecutor’s report, Messi “obtained significant income” from image rights between 2006 and 2009 on which he “should have paid tax in his subsequent declarations” to the authorities and never did.
A week later, a judge accepted that the footballer and his father had a case to answer and ordered them to appear before the court.
Although the offences of which both men are accused are in principle punishable by a jail sentence, the Messis paid the tax authorities €5m last month (the €4.16m claimed by the taxman plus interest), which will significantly reduce any sentence should they be found guilty.
The revelation caused astonishment in Spain where Messi is looked upon as a more humble figure than other football stars, particularly his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Messi is a very good player and he doesn’t have a conflicting image. Rather, he has a very professional image, of being focused on what he does and very close to the public,” according to IMG Consulting marketing expert Carles Canto.
Despite the initial consternation, the player’s popularity does not appear to have diminished at all due to the allegations.
“Messi’s image amongst Barcelona fans is so solid that it is very difficult for it to be clouded by this case,” Catalan daily La Vanguardia sports journalist Enric Baneres said.
“Tax evasion is something so common in Spain like the siesta or paella that the people are very permissive with it.
“Fans don’t want to criticise their idols, so they are used to excusing them or putting the blame on someone else,” the journalist said.
In this case the player’s defence seems intended to try to exonerate him of any responsibility and point the finger at his former agent Rodolfo Schinocca.
According to a document sent by Messi’s father to the court, obtained by Catalan daily El Periodico, Schinocca was put in charge of organising the “structure and management” of the income from Messi’s image rights.
However, Schinocca told Spanish radio station Cope that he had nothing to do with the case at hand because he stopped working with the Messis in 2006, before the alleged offences took place. He accused Jorge Messi of wanting an offshore account to manage the income from the image rights.
While Messi’s 323 goals in 387 games for Barcelona have made him irreplaceable on the field, his income from endorsements off it has also soared.
Between 2007 and 2009 he earned more than €10.17m in image rights.
American magazine Forbes lists him as the 10th-highest paid sportsman in the world with an annual income of $21m from endorsements alone.
Despite the court case, Messi continues to lead advertising campaigns for brands such as Adidas and video games maker EA Sports, whose latest version of the immensely popular Fifa franchise has been released in Spain the day before Messi’s scheduled appearance in court. The Argentinean is on the front cover.
“Whilst the player is so good and his behaviour is quite normal and proper, it will not affect him too much,” Canto said.
The consultant said according to a study carried out by his company last year, Messi has the best image of any foreign sportsman in Spain.