Conversations about Lionel Messi tend to revolve around a few obvious topics: his amazing statistics and individual moments of brilliance, the conquest of the sport by his team Barcelona, and his successful but never quite stellar Argentine international career. These are the points upon which a legacy is built, one that already calls for the highest praise — greatest of all time.
Yet, there is perhaps a crack in the cornerstone of the Messi monument, one that could send the whole edifice down. Lionel Messi may very well be the greatest player in the game, but he may also be a tax cheat. And if that’s true, you better believe some out there will gather the sledgehammers to tear him down for it.
Start with the controversy. Messi, along with his father, are heading to court at the end of May to defend against allegations of tax fraud. These are old claims, stemming from as long ago as 2007, and the family has long denied any wrongdoing.
But now, in just the past week, new evidence has come to light in the form of the Panama Papers, the leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm that helped set up offshore shell companies to allow the wealthy to avoid tax. Messi’s family is named amongst its clients, and though the Messis claim there is nothing scandalous here as well — and are threatening lawsuits against a Spanish paper that suggested otherwise — so far, these documents look accurate and rather damning.
Still, even if it is all true, and even if it can be proved, could this really affect Barcelona’s little genius? Tax seems a pretty arcane means of bringing down a giant of the world’s game. After all, how many star athletes get away with far worse? There are athletic heroes accused of every sort of sexual misdeed, every version of violent crime, and any number of recreational sins, and yet we give at most a shake of the head and a wag of the finger before going on again about their latest feats. The only personal failing that ever seems to really leave an asterisk on a career is steroids.
The world we live in today may care quite a bit about more about this issue than at first thought. This is a time when governments are toppled for corruption. The Panama Papers have already cost one world leader his job, Iceland‘s Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson. Meanwhile, Britain’s David Cameron is getting grilled over his suspected involvement, as is Argentina’s new and relatively popular (until now) president, Mauricio Macri. And journalists haven’t even finished with the files yet.
Even in America, where the headlines have not been so focused on this scandal, there are plenty of reason to think the average fan might be bothered by this. Massive movements are developing here as well around tax and income disparity. Though they may meet at few other points, the Tea Party, Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders all have something to say on that subject.
So, the question shouldn’t be whether people care about tax evasion; the question should be whether Lionel Messi is guilty, and then, if the greatest of all time is great enough to rise above the certain outrage over such a verdict. Because in an angry world threatening to burn itself down over stolen wealth, getting away with tax fraud may be Messi’s greatest trick yet.
