Court sets May 31 trial start date in Lionel Messi's tax fraud trial

Barcelona - Barcelona star Lionel Messi and his father's trial for tax fraud will begin on May 31 at a court in Barcelona, a regional superior court said Wednesday.

Messi, recently crowned Ballon d'Or winner for a record fifth time, and his father Jorge have been charged with tax fraud for allegedly failing to declare €4.16 million ($4.69 million) in taxes related to his image rights between 2007 and 2009.

The trial will run until June 3, the Catalan Superior Court of Justice said in a statement.

State prosecutors are asking for both men to be sentenced to prison terms of 22 months and a half.

Last month the pair were cleared of seperate allegations relating to charitable friendlies played in 2012 and 2013 after a judge heard testimony from an Argentine businessman who organised the matches.

The player had been investigated in that case to see if he had failed to declare to the tax man any revenue made from taking part in a series of friendlies in Mexico, Colombia, the United States and Peru.