Messi to go on trial for tax fraud on May 31st, three days after CL final

Leo Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, will face trial in a Barcelona court on May 31st. The date fixed for the trial is three days after the Champions League final at San Siro, in Milan, which Barcelona are a strong candidate to reach. As well as this, the Copa América starts on June 3rd, the day on which the trial is due to finish, which means Messi could miss the opening of the most important competition between national teams in the Americas, unless there is a change of date for the proceedings.

The public prosecutor’s office had already exonerated Messi, but not the tax authorities, who continue to accuse him of three counts of tax evasion committed between 2007 and 2009. The prosecution is demanding a prison sentence of 22 months and 15 days as well as a fine of €4.1 million.