Let’s just get this out of the way: it is unlikely that Lionel Messi will end his career in China. He has gone on record multiple times saying that he wants to end his career at Barcelona, with the only other possibility being a return to his native Argentina. But should the landscape of Lionel Messi’s life change enough, and not in unheard-of ways, it is possible for him to move to China at the end of his career.
It is no secret that Lionel Messi has tax troubles. He is due to stand trial for tax fraud at the end of this month, and could end up serving two years in prison (highly unlikely) and/or paying a large fine (much more likely) if he is found guilty of defrauding the Spanish government of €4.1 million in taxes between 2007 and 2009. Messi has already reportedly paid €5 million to Spanish authorities and that number could rise.
Taking a speculative leap, this could only be the start of Messi’s tax troubles. He was recently named in the Panama Papers leak for holding stake in a shell company to possibly commit further tax fraud. There is no telling whether or not this is as deep as the Lionel Messi tax fraud hole goes; should he be found guilty in trial Spain and incriminated for the Panama papers, and additionally found guilty of further tax fraud, Messi could be looking at large fines, and that’s where China would come in.
China could throw an ungodly sum of money at Lionel Messi. The Chinese Super League already shocked the world this winter with a spending spree on mid-level first division European talent. Eight players (Jackson Martínez, Gervinho, Ramires, Alex Teixeira, Fredy Guarín, Obafemi Martins, Fredy Montero, and Paulinho) who either were playing in a European first division or had a history of doing so were bought up by the CSL for a net sum of €177 million. Those transfers varied from bargains to outsized deals in the range of €40 to €50 million in the cases of Martinez and Teixeira, far more than clubs located outside of China would have paid.
China wanted to go big in the winter of 2015/16 and they did, for players no where near the class of Messi. There is no doubt that should Messi decide to move for financial reasons (i.e. massive fines due to being found guilty of tax fraud) a Chinese club could give Messi a contract to quell whatever trouble he may be in. In that club’s eyes, it would be a small price to pay to have the greatest player of all time grace it’s matches.
This, of course, is predicated on Messi not only being found guilty for his current charges of tax fraud, but additional infringements that may or may not exist. “Speculation” doesn’t seem quite damning enough of all of this. Never the less, it is an interesting possibility to consider.
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