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Lionel Messi tax trial set for end of season

Lionel Messi's trial for alleged tax fraud will get underway in Barcelona on May 31, three days after the Champions League final.

Lionel Messi's trial for alleged tax fraud will get underway three days after the Champions League final on May 31, it has been confirmed.

The Barcelona striker and his father Jorge are accused of failing to declare £3.2m in tax between 2007 and 2009 by allegedly funnelling his image rights through companies in Belize and Uruguay.

The judge presiding over the case previously refused to drop the charges against Lionel after lawyers claimed that Jorge was solely responsible for the alleged fraud, ruling: "There are rational signs that the criminality was committed by both accused parties."

If the pair are found guilty, they could be handed prison sentences of almost two years, although convictions of this length are normally suspended for first-time offenders in Spain. Jorge has since paid the owed tax money, which is also likely to reduce any sentence handed out.

The trial is expected to last until June 3.

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FC Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates a goal during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs RC Deportivo La Coruna at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on December 12, 2015
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