Messi’s humble image faces tax evasion test

Idolised for his immense skill on the field,
four-time World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi’s
squeaky-clean image off the pitch will come under scrutiny
on Friday when he faces a judge accused of tax evasion.
The Argentine and his father Jorge Messi are due to appear
in court on Friday morning in the coastal town of Gava near
Barcelona, where the player lives, accused of evading tax
on Messi’s image rights to the tune of 4.16 million euros
($5 million, £3.5 million) between 2006 and 2009.
Despite the looming court case, Messi’s form on the field
has scarcely been affected with the Barcelona forward
scoring 10 goals in just seven matches this season as the
Spanish champions remain unbeaten.
“I am not worried, I’m always on the sidelines of all that,
just like my dad. We have our lawyers and our advisors who
handle these things. We trust in them and they will solve
the issue,” he said back in July.
The case began in June when a prosecutor accused the
Messis of evading tax by ceding the image rights of the
player to “purely instrumental entities” in tax havens like
Belize and Uruguay.
According to the prosecutor’s report, Messi “obtained
significant income” from image rights between 2006 and
2009 on which he “should have paid tax in his subsequent
declarations” to the authorities and never did.
A week later, a judge accepted the footballer and his father
had a case to answer and ordered for them to appear before
the court.
Although the offences of which both men are accused are in
principle punishable by a jail sentence, the Messis paid the
tax authorities five million euros in August (the 4.16 million
euros claimed by the taxman plus interest), which will
significantly reduce any sentence should they be found
guilty.
The news caused astonishment in Spain where Messi is
looked upon as a more humble figure than other football
stars, particularly his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Messi is a very good player and he doesn’t have a
conflicting image. Rather, he has a very professional image,
of being focused on what he does and very close to the
public,” says Carles Canto, a marketing expert for IMG
Consulting.
However, despite the initial consternation, the player’s
popularity doesn’t appear to have diminished at all due to
the allegations.
“Messi’s image amongst Barcelona fans is so solid that it
is very difficult for it to be clouded by this case,” adds Enric
Baneres, a sports journalist for Catalan daily La
Vanguardia.
“Tax evasion is something so common in Spain like the
siesta or paella that the people are very permissive with it.
“A fan doesn’t want to criticise their idols, so they are used
to excusing them or putting the blame on someone else.”
In this case the player’s defence seems set to try to
exonerate him of any responsibility and point the finger at
his former agent Rodolfo Schinocca.
According to a document sent by Messi’s father to the
court, obtained by Catalan daily El Periodico, Schinocca
was put in charge of organising the “structure and
management” of the income from Messi’s image rights.
However, Schinocca told Spanish radio station Cope that he
had nothing to do with the case at hand because he stopped
working with the Messis in 2006, before the supposed
offences took place and accused Jorge Messi of wanting an
off-shore account to manage the income from the image
rights.
Whilst Messi’s 323 goals in 387 games for Barca have
made him irreplaceable on the field, his income from
endorsements off it has also soared.
Between 2007 and 2009 he earned more than 10.17 million
euros in image rights, whilst American magazine Forbes
make him the 10th highest paid sportsman in the world with
an annual income of $21 million from endorsements alone.
Despite the court case, Messi continues to lead advertising
campaigns for brands like Adidas and video games maker
EA Sports, whose latest version of the immensely popular
FIFA franchise is released in Spain the day before Messi is
due to appear in court with the Argentine on the front cover.
“Whilst the player is so good and his behaviour is quite
normal and proper, it will not affect him too much,”
suggests Canto, adding that according to a study carried
out by his firm in 2012, Messi has the best image of any
foreign sportsman in Spain.