Messi tax hearing delayed by 10 days

FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi and his father will appear in court Sep 27 to answer charges of tax evasion. The change of date came after the postponement of a hearing, scheduled for next week.

Messi and his father face charges of filing incomplete tax returns for the years 2006-2009 and have already made a payment of over five million euros to the Spanish tax authorities Aug 14, reports Xinhua.

Messi has long proclaimed his innocence, posting a message on his Facebook page in July insisting: "We have never committed any offence. We have always completed all of our obligations to the treasury following the advice of our financial advisors."

Meanwhile the El Pais newspaper in Spain reported Tuesday that when Messi and his father paid the five million euros in August, Messi's father, Jorge, also handed a note in which he emphasised that Messi "has always dedicated himself to playing football and nothing else".

Messi and his father had been scheduled to appear in court Sep 17, but their lawyer asked for another date, given that he was busy that day.