World's richest footballer Lionel Messi lands in tax mess

Madrid: World Player of the Year for four successive years, and star Argentine and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has landed in tax trouble. 

A Spanish prosecutor filed a complaint on Wednesday against Lionel Messi, 25, and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, alleging the Barcelona and Argentina star hoodwinked tax authorities from 2007-09, by concealing the extent of his real earnings.

State prosecutor Raquel Amado accused Messi of defrauding more than 4 million euros ($5.3 million) in income tax returns for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Messi, Amado alleged, "obtained significant revenue derived from the transfer to third parties of his image rights, income which should have been taxed."

The complaint says Messi "circumvented his tax obligations" by using shell companies in tax havens such as Belize and Uruguay.

The case was submitted for trial at the court in Gava, the upmarket Barcelona suburb near the Mediterranean coast where Messi lives.

Messi, who is rated by Forbes as the world's 10th highest-paid athlete, reportedly earned $41.3 million to June this year; with $20.3 coming from his club salary and $21 million in endorsements.

The complaint was filed a day after Messi played in Argentina's 1-1 draw against Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier in Quito.

He has scored 133 goals for Barcelona over the last two seasons, including 60 in all competitions this season, leading Barcelona to the Spanish league title.

Spain has, of late, cracked the whip on tax evasion as it fights to repair the country's public finances amid recession and the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector.

Earlier in April, , Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro  had warned footballers that they should make sure they are "comfortable" with their tax affairs.

If convicted, Messi could face up to six years in prison and a hefty fine, according to Spain's EFE news agency.