Messi cleared of tax fraud charges but his father faces prison sentence

Argentine footballer, Lionel Messi has been cleared of tax fraud charges levelled against him in June 2013 but prosecutors are calling for an 18-month prison sentence and a £1.5m fine for his father, Jorge Horacio Messi for allegedly defrauding Spain's tax office of €4m (now £3m) in unpaid taxes from 2007-09.

Prosecutors stressed that the Barcelona playmaker should be absorbed of the blame because his father was in charge of his finance during that period, according to the documents provided on Tuesday. Messi who became a resident of Barcelona in 2000 gained Spanish citizenship 5 years later.