Lionel Messi set to be prosecuted, could face 22 months in jail

This means that once again the Barcelona star is facing a trial, along with a possibility of jail.

Earlier in the week, the Prosecutors Office had suggested Messi should not have go in the dock because “he could not be aware that a large part of the money received for image rights arrived through tax havens”.

A Spanish judge had recently rejected an appeal filed by the player’s lawyers to drop the Barcelona star from the case.

In citing Messi to trial and a possible sentence of 22 months in prison, the court assumes he has joint responsibility along with his father.

As reported by El Pais, Lionel Messi and his father were accused of defrauding the tax authorities out of €4.1 million (US $4.6) back in 2013.

“Barcelona has expressed its affection and solidarity to Leo Messi and his family in such a peculiar situation”, the statement added. His defense lawyer stated that he “never spent a single minute of his time reading, studying or analyzing” his own contracts.

The 28-year-old had appeared set to be spared a trial on the grounds that, because of his age, responsibility for any alleged wrongdoing would be placed on his father, who it was claimed had “control of his tax obligations”.

Messi, a four-time World Player of the Year, is now out of action because of a knee injury that he sustained in last month’s Primera Division victory over Las Palmas.

Prosecutors allege that Jorge avoiding paying tax on his son’s earnings by using offshore companies in Belize and Uruguay between 2007 and 2009.

At the Gava hearing nearly two years ago, the Argentina captain said that he did not look after the details of his own finances, leaving such matters to his father and advisors.

He is also on the Forbes’ list of world’s highest earning athletes in 10th position, having made an estimated £230 million (AU $488 million) in his professional career.