Lionel Messi will face trial on tax fraud charges in Spain

Lionel Messi could end up with a prison sentence over charges against him that the prosecutor wanted dropped.

The four-time world soccer player of the year and his father have been charged with three counts of tax fraud in Spain, according to court documents released Thursday.

A trial date has not been set.

The documents show that a judge rejected the request of Spain’s public prosecutor that only Jorge Messi should stand trial, since he was the one in charge of his son’s finances. Spain’s state attorney, however, had argued that both men should face a prison sentence of 22 months and 15 days.

The two men are accused of defrauding Spain’s tax authorities of at least $4.5 million from 2007 to 2009. Jorge Messi made a corrective payment of $5.6 million to cover the amount owed plus interest in 2013.

An earlier appeal seeking to remove the Barcelona star from the case was recently rejected by a judge. It was determined that Messi could known about or even approved the alleged illegal acts of using shell companies to hide income from tax authorities.

Even if found guilty, Lionel and Jorge Messi might avoid jail time, since sentences of less than two years are often suspended for first-time offenders in Spain, Agence-France Presse reported.