Lionel Messi let the Spanish tax authorities storm his private jet on the tarmac at Barcelona Airport – a fiasco that the Argentine hero described as “madness”.
Messi, 33, returned from international service on Wednesday.
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But before he even had a chance to enter the terminal, Marca reports that up to five officers have boarded his bespoke plane and asks the Barca captain and all of the crew to produce documents.
While driving through customs at Barcelona El Prat Airport, Messi was sentenced to pay a tax, the report adds.
Upon arrival, he told reporters, “After 15 hours of flying, I run into people from the tax authority who are asking questions. It’s madness. “
Messi and his father Jorge were found guilty of tax fraud in 2016 and originally given a 21-month suspended sentence. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner was also fined $ 3 million.
At the time, he admitted that he wanted to leave Spain because of the chaos.
On top of his frustration, Messi was questioned by the El Prat media for comments from ex-teammate Antoine Griezmann’s former agent.
Eric Olhats said Messi was “unfortunate” and did everything possible to unsettle the French and oversee a “terror regime” at the club.
At that point Messi snapped and said, “I’m tired of always being the problem.”
Messi’s growing frustration at his youth club could be Barcelona’s loss but Manchester City’s win.
The Etihad club are currently planning to land him in the January transfer window after Messi nearly left Barca in the summer before making a dramatic U-turn to honor the final year of his contract at Nou camp.
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Barcelona’s $ 800 million debt means it is desperate to drastically cut costs.
The chance of raking in a possibly less than $ 90 million fee instead of letting Messi go for free at the end of the season is possibly too good to be turned down.
Messi’s former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola signed a new two-year deal to stay in Manchester City until 2023.
The Spanish boss only had seven months left on his existing $ 35-year deal with speculation that he might leave Etihad.
Guardiola, 49, was brought to Manchester City to win the club’s first Champions League. He is committed to finishing what he started.
He has led the Etihad side to consecutive Premier League titles with 100 and 98 points in those seasons.
But Man City have never won the Champions League in their history and have been eliminated in the quarter-finals for the past three seasons.
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