Messi tax trial: He did not know what he was signing – Witness

Six witnesses and an expert have testified in court that Leo Messi did not have any knowledge of the contracts that he was signing.

In Wednesday’s session of the trail to determine if Messi was guilty of tax evasion between 2007 and 2009, several people associated with the Juarez & Associates law firm – who managed Messi’s image rights during those years – took to the stand.

The court was told that Messi’s father Jorge and his brother Rodrigo were the ones responsible for the contracts.

“The mediator was always Jorge Messi or, occasionally, Rodrigo Messi, but it was never Leo [Messi],” Iñigo de Loyola Juárez of the law firm testified.

“The contracts came to me already signed by the player,” she said.

Her brother Angel Juarez also spoke and he was even more blunt.

“[Leo] Messi sometimes came to the agreements, but he never made any decision,” he told the court.”All of the documents were always asked for by Jorge Messi. I don’t even have Leo’s phone number or email.”

Juarez continued and placed blame on Jorge Messi’s old business partner Rodolfo Schinocca.

“He fooled the Messis and he committed fraud,” Juarez said.

However, Juarez reminded the court that Jorge Messi still had some knowledge of what he was doing.

“Jorge Messi knew that tax was not paid in Spain on the money earned in Uruguay.”

The Barcelona star’s defence team tried to argue that the player was not responsible and also that his father was either not aware or not well-advised as to how income from image rights should be managed.

The day’s proceedings continued with Messi’s first agent Josep Maria Minguella speaking to the courtroom.

“When the player excelled and needed help with financial matters, he brought them to the offices of the Juarez law firm, who became responsible for his income for seven or eight years,” he said.

“The Messi family had very little knowledge of these matters,” Minguella added.

Finally, an expert confirmed that several of Messi’s signatures on various contracts were forged, suggesting that the footballer did not have any knowledge of them.

The trial is due to end on Thursday with the testimonies of Leo Messi and Jorge Messi.