Lionel Messi Will Stand Trial For Tax Evasion Charges

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Lionel Messi is the greatest soccer player in the world, and possibly of all time. He sometimes appears as if he’s floating over the pitch and through defenders, an intangible spirit capable of impossible things. However, as special and untouchable he is on the field, he’s nowhere near as such in the legal system.

Sky is reporting that Messi and his father Jorge lost their final appeal to avoid trial in a case centered on the star failing to pay taxes on money he made from his likeness (apparel, video games, advertising, etc.) between 2006 and 2009. Messi’s lawyers claim that Leo “never devoted a minute of his life to reading, studying or analysing” any contracts, throwing his father under the bus in a big way. But ignorance is not enough of a legal defense, so the FC Barcelona superstar will still stand trial.

Now, it should go without saying that Messi is highly unlikely to see jail time, because he’s one of the most famous and beloved athletes in the world. Beyond that, his father has already paid back the five million Euros they owed Spain, which Sky says “should significantly reduce any sentence in the event they are found guilty.”

Even though we almost certainly won’t get the “Messi Leads Prison Soccer Team On Improbable Champions Leage Run” the world desperately craves, this should at least serve as a reminder to all young, rich people: READ YOUR DAMN CONTRACTS.

P.S. — We don’t have the rights to post it here, but definitely check out the Sky article for the picture of Messi’s dad. The resemblance is startling, and the outfit is stunning. MIAMI VICE MESSI!

(Via Sky)

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