Lionel Messi reported to have paid additional €10m to Spanish taxman

[Neven Subotic]

Lionel Messi reported to have paid additional €10m to Spanish taxman

• Payments correspond to tax owed for image rights income
• Messi due to appear in court near Barcelona in September

Agencies
The Guardian, Wednesday 26 June 2013 10.57 BST

La Vanguardia reported that Lionel Messi has paid an extra €10m to the Spanish taxman. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images

Lionel Messi has prepared complementary tax returns for 2010 and 2011 and has paid the tax authorities in Spain an additional €10 million, according to the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.

Sources connected to the case have confirmed that the player's payments correspond to taxes owed for image rights income in 2010 and 2011. They have also said that the payments were made through a complementary tax return, which consists of a correction to the tax return originally submitted.

Messi is also looking to strike an agreement for the 2007, 2008 and 2009 financial years. Sources claim Barcelona's Argentinian striker has accepted that he must pay tax on income from image rights and wishes to clear up any issues with his tax returns for the three years under investigation.

Barcelona's financial crimes office filed a complaint against Messi and his father, Jorge, on 12 June, accusing them of tax fraud. The Messis are accused of three crimes against the tax authorities corresponding to the 2007, 2008 and 2009 financial years, when they are alleged to have used tax havens to avoid paying more than €4 million.

Messi is due to appear in court for questioning in Gavá near Barcelona on 17 September, although his lawyers have said he "scrupulously complies with Spanish legislation".