Another Barcelona player charged with tax fraud - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Influential Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano has become the latest in a line of current Blaugrana stars to be targeted in a case of tax evasion. After Lionel Messi and Neymar, Mascherano is the third South American player plying his trade with the Catalan giants to be charged with tax fraud.
According to reports in the Guardian, Mascherano has been charged with two counts of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities; the first of €587,822 (£434,629) in 2011 and the next in 2012 of €968,907 (£716,399), both done while being a Barcelona player. He is alleged to have concealed earnings from image rights by using companies set up in the United States and Portugal.
The Argentina international, however, paid the money owed plus almost £150,000 interest earlier this month, according to the office of the public prosecutor, a factor which could work in the player’s favour if he is found guilty. According to the same Guardian report, Barcelona did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mascherano is the third Barcelona player after Messi and Neymar to be charged, something which could have deep political connections. Earlier this year, Messi was caught up in a similar offence and will face trail over €4.1m (£3m) tax fraud. In another case of a Barcelona player falling foul for deceiving the taxmen, Neymar also had his assets frozen by the Sao Paolo federal court last week.
Neymar’s transfer to Barcelona in the summer of 2013 from Santos also led to accusations of tax fraud on the club. Barcelona were alleged to have misled the taxmen by claiming to have signed Neymar for €57.1m but later admitted that the actual amount totaled to €86.2m after including additional payments. This saga even led to the resignation of then Barca president Sandro Rosell in January 2014, and current president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Rosell are due to stand trial over the case.
There have been many instances of footballers making use of tax-avoidance loopholes in the past. In 2012, reports emerged that Premier League players were evading taxes by cashing in on directors’ loans, and used their image rights contracts to lower their tax bills. Which has stemmed the belief among the Barcelona fans that the Spanish state, based in Madrid, is against the club and the representatives of Catalonia.
The Catalan elections, which were held on 27th September, is the procedure which decides the composition of the parliament of Catalonia and its government. This year though, the elections were also the basis of finding out the extent to which Catalans are in favour of independence. With the pro-independence party winning the elections, it gives them more impetus to break away from Spain to make Catalonia a separate country.
With the Spanish government based in Madrid refusing to budge under the pressure of the separatist movement and pledging to challenge any unilateral moves towards independence in court, Barca fans are naturally inclined to believe their players are being made easy targets. Influential figures at the club like Pep Guardiola and Gerard Pique have also openly pledged their support for the movement.
Even the pro-Madrid papers have headlined the implications of a separate Catalonia, suggesting Barcelona could be going the way of clubs like Ajax or Celtic should Catalonia break away from Spain. Both Marca and AS ran strong headlines last week providing a sporting twist to what has been the major talking point of politics in Spain, as sourced from pro-Barcelona website Grup 14.
Marca (pictured above) led with the headline on their cover: “IN RUINS: Catalan sports and football on the verge of collapse.” While Diario AS (pictured below) went with the following on their cover: “Cardenal: If Catalonia becomes independent, Barça would end up like Ajax or Celtic.”
But there also have been other athletes apart from those at Barcelona who have come under the scrutiny of the Spanish tax offices. According to this report from ESPN FC, former Real Madrid stars Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas, Samuel Eto’o, Luis Figo and Rafael Nadal are among the high-profile athletes whose finances are being investigated. Which calls into question the concerns of the Cules, and how true the supposed anti-Barca motives from the powers that be are.
From Soccerlens.com - Football News
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