Fraud case against Barcelona's Lionel Messi dropped

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has avoided another embarrassing court case for tax fraud after he and his foundation were cleared of allegations relating to charitable friendlies played in 2012 and 2013 yesterday

Barcelona: Barcelona star Lionel Messi has avoided another embarrassing court case for tax fraud after he and his foundation were cleared of allegations relating to charitable friendlies played in 2012 and 2013 yesterday.


Lionel Messi. Pic/AFP

The four-time World Player of the Year was being investigated to see if Messi had failed to declare to the tax man any revenue made from taking part in a series of friendlies in Mexico, Colombia, the United States and Peru.

However, after hearing testimony from the Argentine businessman, Guillermo Javier Marin, who organised the matches, the judge dismissed the case.

Marin said he never paid Messi to take part in the games, but rather compensated his presence by picking up the bill for hotel stays and first class flights for Messi and his family for the matches in question.

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