Adriano becomes latest Barcelona player embroiled in tax scandal

The taxman is knocking at Barcelona's door for the umpteenth time.

A Spanish court announced Wednesday that Adriano was accused earlier this year of defrauding Spain's Tax Agency of €646,086, saying he was charged with defrauding the agency of €189,419.53 and €456,666.56 in 2011 and 2012, respectively, for ceding his image rights through an offshore company in Madeira, Portugal.

Adriano paid the full amount owed to Spain's Tax Agency on March 7, but a judge must decide whether to pursue the matter in court, as explained by Richard Martin from Reuters.

Other Barcelona players dealing with tax-related issues include Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Javier Mascherano.

Messi and his father face three counts of tax fraud committed between 2006-2009, and are alleged to have created a web of shell companies that simulated the handing over of his son's image rights and defrauded Spain's Tax Agency of €4.1 million in income tax.

Neymar, meanwhile, finds himself in the middle of an investigation from the Spanish National Court into the real cost of his controversial transfer from FC Santos to Barcelona. He was also found guilty of tax fraud by the Tribunal Regional Federal da 3a Regiao, seated in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and ordered to pay R$188.8 million (€42.5 million) in fines and back taxes.

Mascherano, lastly, pleaded guilty to defrauding Spain's Tax Agency of €1.5 million, accepting a one-year prison sentence and a €816,000 fine before a judge in January. However, he is not expected to spend any time behind bars since sentences under two years are not generally enforced in Spain.