Lionel Messi will face trial for three charges of tax fraud and a sentence of almost two years in prison has been requested.
Reports from Spain say the State Attorney has opted to continue the case against the Barcelona forward, as well as his father Jorge Messi.
Messi was earlier in the week cleared by the Prosecutor’s office of Barcelona while charges were maintained against his father.
But State Attorney has contradicted the Prosecutor and kept the case against the Argentina international, and so Messi will stand trial with his father.
The Prosecutor had accepted the claim that the player had no knowledge of his financial affairs as they were left in the hands of his father.
Lionel and Jorge Messi will face charges relating to allegations money from image rights for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 was funnelled through tax havens in Belize and Uruguay.
The two are accused of defrauding the tax office of a little over €4m. El Pais add that it was accepted Lionel Messi may have been unaware of his tax affairs but the amount of tax of which the authorities were allegedly defrauded cannot be ignored.
