"If you are Messi, you don't have to go to jail," claims Spanish politician
The tax fraud allegations against Lionel Messi seems to be never ending as Spanish politician Alberto Garzon has accused the Barcelona star of being favoured by the court of law because of his stature. Hitting out at Cristóbal Montoro, the Minister of Finance, Garzon was quoted by Spanish agency Marca.
Garzon, a left-wing politician, said, "In this country, if your name's Messi, and you pay whatever money's necessary and negotiate with his [Montoro's] ministry, you don't go to prison. That's not justice; it's unworthy of the name.”
Messi and his father were accused of not paying taxes of more than 4 million euros (£3.1 million) during the period of 2007 and 2009, including income related to Messi's image rights, which consists of contracts with Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Proctor and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company.
Even though a penalty payment was made by the Argentine, charges were pressed against him, despite speculations of the player’s father, Jorge Horacio having a big hand in the controversy.