Will money worries tempt tax-dodging Barcelona star Lionel Messi out of international retirement with Argentina?
Skipper quit after Copa America final defeat to Chile but threat of mega £15m loss on top of tax fraud fine could see star return
MONEY could be the driving force behind Lionel Messi’s decision to come out of Argentina retirement.
The Barcelona superstar was fined £1.7million after being found guilty of tax fraud by a Catalonian court this week.
And reports in Argentina suggest sportswear giant Adidas could leave the former skipper a further £15MILLION out of pocket if he does not return to the international fold.
Messi sensationally quit international duty after he missed a penalty in the Copa America final shootout loss to Chile last month.
Devastated fans took to the streets in Buenos Aires in their thousands last week to plead with their record goalscorer to change his mind.
Diego Maradona, the rest of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup-winning side, Messi mega-fan Miss BumBum and even the nation’s president begged the little magician to stay.
Some supporters even posted snaps of ‘#notevayaslio’ [don’t go Lio] tattoos on social media.
And it appeared the public clamour had worked as Argentinian sources suggested the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was ready to perform an incredible U-turn.
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However, it has now been claimed that the 29-year-old will indeed decide to return… so his bank balance does not take a mega hit.
Messi is the global posterboy of sportswear giant Adidas – who manufacture Argentina’s famous blue and white kit.
The attacker is in the middle of a whopping £105million seven-year deal with the German firm.
But he is only ever seen in an Adidas shirt when on international duty – as Barcelona are sponsored by major rivals Nike.
And Argentinian outlet reports that the company’s bosses are up in arms about Messi’s decision.
It is claimed they could even choose to terminate the star’s contract if the former captain does not return to the national team.
Messi was this week sentenced to 21 months jail for tax fraud after a high-profile court case in Catalonia.
The star, and father Jorge, were found to have used tax havens in Belize and Uruguay to evade tax on his image rights, owing more than £3.4million in back payments.
Messi had already made a £4m ‘corrective payment’ to authorities and the court ordered him to pay a fine of around £1.7m and his father to pay £1.15m for the crimes.
The Messis are appealing the decision.
SunSport exclusively revealed on Wednesday that dad Jorge had met with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich on his £1.5bn superyacht to discuss a blockbuster summer move.