Wednesday, 12th June, 2013
Barcelona star Lionel Messi has revealed his surprise at reports that he and his father had committed tax fraud to the tune of more than €4m, insisting they had not "committed any infringement".
According to tax authorities, the four-time Ballon d’Or winner was alleged today to have filed fraudulent tax returns alongside his father Jorge.
Officials have indicated that the time period of the alleged fraud was between 2007 and 2009, when Messi’s peak as a player was just being reached.
However, the Argentina international, who played last night’s World Cup qualifier against Ecuador, has denied the allegations via his Facebook page.
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Messi wrote: "We have just known through the media about the claim filed by the Spanish tax authorities. We are surprised about this news, because we have never committed any infringement.
"We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advice of our tax consultants who will take care in clarifying this situation."
Messi broke several goalscoring records this season, ending with 46 goals in his 32 league games for Barcelona, who won the La Liga title comfortably and with a club-record 100 points.
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