Messi's family denies 'Panama Papers' tax evasion claim

The family of FC Barcelona's Argentine star Lionel Messi has stressed it has never used the services of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca to escape tax scrutiny.

The law firm had 11.5 million of its documents anonymously leaked in the so-called 'Panama Papers' scandal on Sunday, that suggests that 140 politicians and officials from around the globe, including 72 former and current world leaders, have connections with secret "offshore" companies to escape tax scrutiny in their countries, reports Efe.

Messi's family underlined in a statement released on Monday that it "wants to make clear that Lionel Messi has not carried out any of the acts attributed to him, and accusations he created a ... tax evasion plot, including a network of money-laundering, are false and insulting."

"The Panama Company to which they refer to is a totally inactive company that never had any funds or any open current accounts," the statement continued.

They added that the firm was created by the family's former tax advisers and that everything had since been brought into line where Messi's fiscal situation was concerned.