Barcelona star Javier Mascherano charged with tax fraud of €1.5 million

Javier Mascherano

La Liga giants’ FC Barcelona’s star Javier Mascherano has been charged with two counts of tax fraud amounting to a massive €1.5 million. The midfielder turned defender is alleged to have evaded taxes by transferring his earnings to companies in United States of America and Portugal.

The former captain of the Argentina national football team is accused of defrauding the authorities to the tune of nearly €600,000 in 2011 and over €968,000 the following year. The fine that the hard-tackling Barca star may face if found guilty could be reduced as this month Mascherano paid back the tax amount he owed plus around €200,000 in interest accumulated over the years.

Despite paying back the amount, he was unable to avoid a complaint on tax fraud and hence, has been charged after the prosecution filed a complaint against the Argentine international. Mascherano will, now, be nervously waiting for a Spanish judge to determine if his case should be sent to trial or not.

This is a third similar case to rock Barcelona as earlier stars Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. were accused of tax fraud, but the duo have denied any wrongdoing. Messi is to face trial for a tax fraud to the tune of €4.1 million while his strike partner, Neymar had assets worth €42.3 million siezed for a tax default of approximately €14 million.

Mascherano’s footballing career so far

Mascherano moved to Spain in 2010 after a successful 4-year spell in the Premier League where he played for West Ham United for a year before moving to European giants, Liverpool FC where he earned worldwide acclaim for his role in midfield alongside club captain Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. After a long speculation over a move to Spain, the 31-year-old finally secured a €23.5 million move to Barcelona in 2010. Before his England foray, Mascherano played for Corinthians and River Plate, where he came through from the youth system.

In the Argentina colours, Javier Mascherano has played 117 matches while scoring 3 goals for La Albiceleste. He is also the most decorated Olympian in Argentina history, winning back to back gold medals in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and the 2008 Games in Beijing, China.

The former Liverpool star was given the captain’s armband by Diego Maradona and he was the skipper in a dismal campaign for Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals. In the 2014 World Cup, however, he was Argentina’s star as his team reached the finals, where they were narrowly beaten by Germany.