Messi’s lawyers: No €15-million deal

Despite reports that Lionel Messi’s tax case has been settled, the Barcelona star’s lawyers insist no agreement has been reached with the Spanish authorities.

Catalan newspaper El Periodico claimed yesterday that Messi and his father will pay €15-million to the Spanish authorities to avoid facing tax fraud charges in court.

Both Messis were due to appear in court on September 17 on charges that they, and their financial advisors, failed to declare more than €4-million in image rights income between 2006 and 2009.

Messi's lawyer Angel Juarez insists his client is "completely innocent", adding that the reports are baseless.

 “Those stories were published without any confirmation from us or any consultation,” Juarez, told Goal.com.

“Nobody can confirm that information. We cannot comment on any questions concerning my client [but] we still believe totally in his innocence – that has never changed.”

A payment of €10-million was reportedly agreed last week to cover Messi's image rights for 2010 and 2011.

Messi is the 10th best paid sportsperson in the world, according to Forbes, with total annual earnings – including sponsorships and endorsements – of €31.6-million.

Had Messi and his father been found guilty, they would have faced up to five years in jail, although such sentences are not usually imposed in Spain.

Messi has paid his taxes, claim lawyers

The Argentine will have to defend his case on September 17, but his representatives insist allegations of fraud are baseless and will be cleared "quickly"

The lawyers of Lionel Messi have insisted the Barcelona attacker has "scrupulously complied with Spanish legislation" in response to recent allegations of tax evasion.

Financial crime prosecutors summoned the 25-year-old, along with his father Jorge Messi, to a court hearing on September 17 after the pair were adjudged to have committed three offences against the Spanish tax authorities between 2006 and 2009.

According to the prosecutor's complaint filed at a court in Gava in northeastern Spain, Messi and his father avoided running up tax receipts of over €4 million by forwarding the four-time Ballon d'Or winner's image rights to overseas tax havens.

A statement released by Juarez Veciana Lawyers, the forward's representatives, read: "We firmly believe the innocence of our client. He complies scrupulously with Spanish legislation. He has paid what corresponds to him legally.

"We are confident the judicial investigation will be resolved in the minimum time possible [to end] this situation which has left our client in a situation of media defencelessness which we deeply regret."

Messi's father Jorge, meanwhile, assured that both him and his son were innocent of any wrong-doing, revealing that they pay their fair share of tax to the Spanish state.

"That there is a difference of opinion between our financial advisers and the Inland Revenue is perfectly normal in the case of people that pay a lot in tax," he told COPE.

"But I can assure you that what we pay annually is an eight figure number. We are confident an agreement will be reached."

According to reports in Spain, Messi and his father could face up to six years in prison, along with a hefty fine, if they are found guilty.