Liga president fears Messi could leave after fraud verdict

Messi and his father, Jorge, were sentenced on Wednesday after a Barcelona court found them both guilty of three counts of defrauding the tax department to the tune of €4.1 million.

“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”, he said on Friday.

Messi’s club, Barcelona FC has come out in support of its player. In addition, the father and son duo were fined € 1.5 m and € 2 m respectively. Government prosecutor Mario Maza states that Lionel Messi “knew more than he made it appear” further adding to the guilt of Messi alongside his father.

Lionel Messi has always denied any knowledge of his tax affairs, saying he concentrated on football, while his father has claimed he left it all up to financial advisers. “We see this as an attack on his person”, Vives said.

Have Barcelona taken this too far now?

A multiple trophy victor with Barcelona, the 29-year-old Messi had been part of four final defeats with the national team, three in the Copa America and at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

His Argentina team lost on penalties in the final to Chile last month and he announced his worldwide retirement.

Messi’s family allegedly feel victimised in Spain and are getting impatient over Barcelona’s failure to offer their superstar a new contract.

Ronaldo and Messi are the only football players in Forbes’ top ten, which also includes two European tennis players, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

“The club… considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish tax office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case”, the club said.

Premier League giants Chelsea are looking to make use of the situation and grab the star striker for a record price, according to reports.