Messi unable to attend court trial due to injury

MADRID - FC Barcelona' s player Lionel Messi did not attend a court trial that started on Tuesday in Barcelona due to an injury, local media reported on Tuesday.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi gestures during a Spanish Super Cup second leg soccer match against Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Messi sustained an injury on his back in Argentina's game against Honduras last Friday.

He would be appearing on Thursday along with his father to testify. His mother and wife of those accused and other three witnesses did not appear either.

Spain' s tax office made 20 inspections during the two-year investigation and both Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, are accused of defrauding 4.1 million euros from 2007 to 2009.

Messi is one of the world' s highest-earning sportsmen, he has scored 314 goals and has five Ballon d' Or titles.