Lionel Messi could leave Barcelona after tax verdict – Javier Tebas

Date Posted: 08/07/2016

Lionel Messi

The president of the Spanish football league says he is worried that Lionel Messi could leave to play in another country after being found guilty of tax fraud.
Javier Tebas has also defended Messi’s innocence two days after a court ruled the Barcelona forward and his father defrauded the Spanish tax office of €4.1 million ($4.6m).
Tebas said: “Of course I fear that [Messi] could leave, but the only thing I can tell him is that from La Liga we believe he isn’t guilty and we are happy to have him here.”
On Wednesday, a court sentenced Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, to 21 months in prison.
In Spain, sentences of less than two years for first offences are usually suspended, meaning neither man will likely go to jail.
Tebas clarified that the court ruled Messi and his father guilty of three counts of tax fraud.

 “They were three verdicts of seven months each, not one of 21,” he said. “They were not that severe. We are talking about process that wasn’t properly followed. I don’t think Messi is a criminal. He fell victim to a faulty fiscal structure which will be changed.”
Tebas added that Messi has paid more than &euro61m to Spain and with that money “hospitals and roads have been built.”
Tebas also dismissed the notion that this case was part of any larger conspiracy against the Argentina star.
“There is no prejudice or personal attack against Messi or against Barcelona,” he said. “The world of sport is under investigation.”