Messi accused of €4m tax fraud

World best footballer Lionel Messi and his father have been accused of tax fraud by Spanish authorities of fraud totalling more than €4m (£3.4m).

According to guardian.co.uk, the FC Barcelona player and his father, Jorge, are alleged to have filed fraudulent tax returns for four years from 2006 to 2009, according to tax crime prosecutors in the eastern region of Catalonia.

The fraud is alleged to have started before he came of age and while his father was in charge of his financial affairs.

Tax prosecutors have lodged a writ at a court in Gava, the Mediterranean beachside town outside Barcelona where Messi lives.

The court has yet to decide whether it will open a case against the man who has been Fifa's world player of the year for a record-breaking four seasons in a row.

The sentence for the three separate tax crimes he is accused of is generally between two and six years in jail, with a fine six times the amount defrauded, according to EFE.

Messi however claims ignorance via his facebook page where he stated that his tax officers will take care of the matter accordingly.