Lionel Messi to face trial for alleged tax fraud of €4.1 million

The planet's highest-valued player will reportedly be sitting in the dock.

According to El Pais, Lionel Messi will face trial after the Barcelona Provincial High Court publicised that it turned down an appeal made by his lawyers, saying there is evidence to suggest that the Argentinian phenom "benefited" from a scheme in which the Spanish Tax Agency was defrauded of €4.1 million in income tax.

It remains unclear whether Messi had knowledge of the tax fraud - something that will be addressed at the hearing - but the court argued that lack of knowledge should not result in impunity for someone who benefits from a structure that assists fraud.

Messi's father, Jorge Horacio Messi, will remain under investigation as a result of Wednesday's announcement. He is facing three counts of tax fraud committed in the tax years of 2007, 2008, and 2009, and is alleged to have created a web of shell companies that was used to simulate the handing-over of his son's image rights.