The four time world footballer of the year has been facing charges of tax evasion for a while, but has always maintained it’s his father who handles his finances and he knows nothing about it.

Still, the prosecution has maintained he should be prosecuted, alongside his father. And now the threat of a 22 month jail term hangs over his head.

The BBC reports…

Argentina and Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi and his father should stand trial on tax fraud charges, a court in Spain has ruled.

The judge in charge of the case rejected the request by prosecutors to drop the charges against the striker.

Messi and his father Jorge are accused of defrauding Spain of more than €4m (£3.1m; $5m). They deny any wrongdoing.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the tax authorities demanded 22-month jail sentences for both defendants.

Prosecutors allege that Jorge avoided paying tax on his son’s earnings by using offshore companies in Belize and Uruguay in 2007-09.

Messi’s lawyers had argued that the player had ‘never devoted a minute of his life to reading, studying or analysing the contracts’

Messi and his father made a voluntary €5m “corrective payment” – equal to the alleged unpaid tax plus interest – in August 2013.