Barca deny paying Messi salary through his charity
The Catalans, who currently lead La Liga by a massive nine points over Atletico Madrid, have been accusing of paying part of the Argentine’s salary through his charity, which is run by Jorge Messi, his father.
German magazine Der Spiegel were the ones who published the documents, which covered a period from 2010 to 2013.
“All of the money the club wired to Lionel Messi's foundation was for charitable purposes,” ESPN quote the Blaugrana as saying.
“The interpretations that (Der Spiegel), other media or other people can make about these donations does not change this position at all. There will be no further comment on the issue.”
So far, Messi’s team has agreed to pay tax authorities €12 million to cover unpaid taxes, though it also denies that the charitable payments were actually a salary.