Messi in court

"I didn't know or read anything, all I know
about is playing football"- Lionel Messi defends
himself at court trial

Lionel Messi insisted to the Judge in a Barcelona
court that he knew nothing about evading €4m in
tax from image rights as he was only focused on
football and trusted his father and lawyers to
handle the financial aspect of his career.
The Barcelona FC Star is being tried in court for
tax evasion totaling €4million and together with his
father, Jorge Horacio Messi, declined to take
questions from the state prosecutors but gave
testimony in the court in Barcelona claiming
ignorance of his tax affairs, the same defense
strategy he used in 2013 while in court for tax
evasion.
He and his father Jorge stand accused of
defrauding Spain of over €4million in taxes by
using offshore companies in Uruguay and Belize to
conceal image rights earnings in the period
2007-2009.
"I didn't know anything, all I know about is
playing football and winning. I left it all to
my Dad," Messi said, wearing a dark suit
and tie. I only knew that sponsors would
pay X amount of money, that I had to do
adverts, photos and things like that.''
continued Messi, according to quotes
gotten by Mirror Sports.
"I never read anything... I would sign where
[the lawyers] said. I signed [the adidas
contract] when I was 18, I was in another
world."
Jorge Messi, had earlier said he didn't realise the
Belize company that managed image rights deals
didn't pay taxes in Spain, and that he never
informed his son, Messi of the details of
sponsorship deals saying all he's ever wanted to
do was to make Messi's life easier..
"Since the start of Leo's career I only tried
to make his life easier," he said. Leo knew
nothing of these companies. He didn't read
the contracts. They needed his signature,
he went and signed but he didn't read
anything and nor did anyone explain it to

him."