Lionel Messi's father has spoken out in defense of his son on the tax evasion controversy, saying that he had nothing to do with it.
Messi and his father Jorge have been accused of tax evasion over three offences from 2007 to 2009 - swindling the Spanish state of more than 3.2million pounds, Mirror.co.uk reports.
The Argentine is also accused of tax avoidance on earnings from image rights, and hiding his income in various 'shell companies' across the world.
Charges against Messi were dropped after his father paid the court 3.9million pounds in order to settle the dispute with the Spanish taxman.
Jorge said in an interview with Spanish radio that Messi had absolutely nothing to do with it and that his lawyers were dealing with the issue.
While the prosecutors agreed that Jorge was the one taking care of his finances and said only he should stand trial, the Spanish Treasury refused to drop the case and said the Barcelona star must join him.