Messi accused of £3.4million tax fraud

That's a fine Messi ... Barcelona star Lionel in tax probe

 

SUPERSTAR footballer Lionel Messi is being investigated for an alleged £3.4MILLION tax fraud in Spain. 

 

The Barcelona star and his dad, Jorge, are accused of filing fraudulent tax returns from 2006-2009 according to a spokesman for tax crime in Catalonia. 

The 25-year-old recognised as the best player in the world and is rumoured to earn £250,000-a-week and £13MILLION in endorsements. 

Winner ... Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi with trophy

 

Last year the player agreed a new six-year deal with Barcelona worth an estimated £17million-a-year AFTER tax which will run until 2018. 

He revealed his shock at allegations and insisted he has done nothing wrong.

In a statement the Argentine forward hit back saying: "We have just known through the media about the claim filed by the Spanish tax authorities. We are surprised about this news, because we have never committed any infringement. 

"We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advice of our tax consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation."
His club has not commented yet. 

Messi - who has won the world player of the year title FOUR times - is one of the world’s highest paid footballers earning around £250,000 a WEEK. 

Agent ... Lionel Messi with dad Jorge

 

Any club wanting to buy him would have to shell out an astronomical £320million to include his wages and £210million transfer fee to release him from the Spanish champions Barcelona. 

But due to new tax laws in Spain, Messi's new deal will cost Barca a lot more. 

Instead of 24 per cent tax they will now pay up to 52 per cent on Messi's salary which means his wages will increase from £10m-a-year to £17m. 

Accused ... Lionel Messi

 

Last December Messi turned down a monster £460,000-a-week offer to quit Barcelona. 

As well as his Barcelona wages, he earns millions from sponsors including Adidas, PepsiCo and P&G and he is 10th on Forbes’s latest list of top-earning athletes. 

Accused of tax fraud ... Jorge Messi

 

He came on for the final half-hour of Argentina’s World Cup 2014 qualifier against Ecuador in Quito on Tuesday which ended in a 1-1 draw. 

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said Messi is expected to be included in the line-up for their friendly against Guatemala on Friday.

Mesmerising shots of Mother Nature at her most angry

When 52-year-old photographer Franz Schumacher sees a storm brewing he does not run for cover with everyone else. 

Instead, he grabs his camera and photographs the thunder and lightning from the middle of the action for all to see.

His atmospheric pictures capture the ferocity of storms around Strohgaeu in Germany at harvest time. 

Eerie: The extreme stormy weather captured by 52-year-old Franz Schumacher near Stuttgart, Germany 

Electric: Graphic designer Franz says: 'I want the viewer to share my fascination for the forces of nature'

Lonely: A single farm stands out against the backdrop of the dark clouds covering the fields around it

The graphic designer has a passion for landscape and whether photography and took to the great outdoors to take these stunning pictures. 

Franz, 52, from Ditzingen near Stuttgart, Germany said: 'I want the viewer to share my fascination for the forces of nature and the situations that I experience outdoors in this type of weather.'

He needs precise timings and exactly the right location to achieve impressive images of lightening bolts mid-strike.

The harvest time background provides the perfect background as the ground is a warm brown colour contrasting to the dark clouds above. 

Franz manages to capture forks of lightning zigzagging down to earth, as well as eerie pictures of a single tree and a single farm surrounded by the dramatic storms. 

The rows of golden corn look almost surreal with the swirling clouds and heavy rainfall hovers surrounding them. 

Eye of the storm: The small clear gap in the middle of the swirling clouds looks oddly calm

Surreal: An unnatural-looking light shines through breaks in the cloud as the storm lifts

Lightening: A double bolt cracking across the fields as the rain pours down

Light and dark: Some sunlight manages to creep through the clouds illuminating the long glass

Dangerous: Franz gets right into the path of the storms near his home in Germany to get shots like these

Ethereal: Swirling black clouds gather on the the hilltop as a pink light shines through in the background

Dramatic: The forked lightening is visible in the heart of the cloud and cracking down to earth at the bottom

Engulfed: A lone tree is surrounded by the gathering storm across the countryside

Strike: As the storm builds to a climax an amazing lightening bolt illuminates the whole sky, while a smaller forked bolt stays deep in the cloud

A palace on wheels!

The world's most expensive motorhome has gone on sale in Dubai - covered in gold and worth a cool £2 million.

The space-age eleMMent Palazzo comes complete with a colossal master bedroom, 40-inch TV, on-board bar, fireplace and even its own rooftop terrace.

But the most impressive piece of luxury is the 'Sky Lounge' - at the press of a button the 40ft home transforms into a personal retreat with pop up cocktail bar, underfloor heating and extravagant marble lighting.

Not your average caravan: The world's most expensive motorhome has gone on sale in Dubai - covered with gold gold and worth a cool £2 million

Luxury travel: The space-age eleMMent Palazzo is comes complete with a colossal master bedroom, 40-inch TV, on-board bar, fireplace and even its own rooftop terrace

Customers: The success of the vehicle has been a hit among oil-rich Arab Sheikhs - the state-of-the-art homes even wash themselves after a day's driving through the Middle Eastern desert.

Luxury: The most impressive piece of luxury is the Sky Lounge - at the press of a button the 40ft home transforms into a personal retreat with pop up cocktail bar, underfloor heating and extravagant marble lighting 

The success of the vehicle has been a hit among oil-rich Arab Sheikhs - the state-of-the-art homes even wash themselves after a day's driving through the Middle Eastern desert.

Although the 40ft vehicle comes in a stunning gold, it is also available in white.

 

A spokesman for Marchi Mobile said: 'People never fail to notice innovation, but rarely does the excitement for it last.

'That is how it began for us. But now - after many years of development - we sparked a fire in luxury mobility.

Millionaire lifestyle: The master bedroom has a 40 inch TV, with warm water floor heating system and full air conditioning 

Superstar status: The private jet on wheels is designed to cater for businessmen on the road, wealthy families on their travels or global superstars on tour

Draw: As millions of Brits load up the roof rack to enjoy a weekend break in Skegness or Blackpool, international business moguls are turning to Austrian luxury experts Marchi Mobile

Eye-watering price tag: Despite living space banishing stereotypical pokey caravans, the cost per sq ft comes at a pocket-busting premium - costing double the equivalent amount of some of London's finest homes

'The eleMMent series from Marchi Mobile is a new class within the premium segment of vehicles, targeted to enthuse lovers of the extraordinary.

'Our goal has not only been to introduce a new line of luxury vehicles - but usher in a new era. This is done by a perfect masterpiece that sets itself apart at first sight.'

The private jet on wheels is designed to cater for businessmen on the road, wealthy families on their travels or global superstars on tour.

Despite living space banishing stereotypical pokey caravans, the cost per sq ft comes at a pocket-busting premium - costing double the equivalent amount of some of London's finest homes.

Craze: Never known for doing things in moderation, Dubai millionaires are snapping up the latest craze in motorhomes 

Security The impressive vehicle has real stream video surveillance so the users have a view to activity outside the motorhome

Modern: The bathroom is a billed as a 'Wellness bathroom' and comes with a rainfall shower

Equipped: The extended living area has an integrated kitchen area including a freezer, refrigerator, dishwasher, lift oven, sink, cook top, a built-in coffee machine and ice-maker

Glamour: Retractable steps emerge from the impressive vehicle to allow passengers on to the mobile home - the steps are eve lined with a red carpet 

Mod cons: The caravan also has a barbecue grill station, an 80 litre stainless steel fridge, and a 40-inch all-weather proofed full HD TV and speaker system

3,000 sheep and a woman riding three horses

These pictures capture the incredible scenes as a woman mounted on three horses led thousands of sheep through the French city of Marseille.

They were taken yesterday during festivities held to celebrate Marseille-Provence being named the 2013 European Capital of Culture.

The visually-stunning parade was called 'TransHumance', after the seasonal migration of people with their livestock when herds are moved to new grazing grounds.

A horsewoman of the Theatre du Centaure stands on her horses and leads sheep during 'TransHumance', an art experiment held in Marseille

Odyssey: Transhumance is the seasonal migration when herds are moved to grazing grounds. Camille (right) of the Theatre du Centaure stands on her horses

It was organised by the equestrian troupe of the Theatre du Centaure, with 7000 animals passing through the city centre with tens of thousands of people watching.
 

More than 150 Provençal and Italian herdsmen, using teams of horses and dogs, will cross Marseille, before finally stopping on the beaches of Marseille's iconic Prado in ‘a poetic journey celebrating nature’.

The 600 kilometre journey starts out a two different points and merges in l’Etang des Aulnes, before making the final journey towards Marseille. The riders were joined by walkers from all backgrounds and nationalities.

Flock: Thousands of onlookers lined the route of the unusual procession

The festivities marked Marseille-Provence being named the 2013 European Capital of Culture

This image gives a sense of the scale of the herd as it moves throught the city

It added: 'Modern ways of communication and transport force the world to live in the same rhythm. Temporality is not respected anymore.

'By travelling together one can slow down one’s pace of life and experience the seasonal movement of people and cattle in the same way people did in ancient times, though in TransHumance's case with a modern twist.'

At each stage of the journey the choreographed movements of animals will be photographed from the air. These images will be used to create a mosaic of the different landscapes of Provence.

Horde: Shepherds from France and Italy helped keep the animals in tight formation

Spectacular: A shepherd (left) helps lead thousands of sheep at the Old Port of Marseille

Resting: The sheep pictured before the start of TransHumance

Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes

Tiger Woods is back on top of the world - in more ways than one.
The iconic golfer returned this year to the world No 1 spot he had held for so long until his self-imposed exile from the game December 2009.
And now the 37-year-old is back at the top of Forbes' annual list of the world's 100 highest paid athletes.

Show me the money: Woods is back at the top of the Forbes list

Power year: Woods, seen at left in his trademark red shirt at a tournament in Ohio last weekend, has attended a number of events (including the Met Ball at right) with his new girlfriend Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn

The American has earned $71.8million in the last year. The vast majority of which came from endorsement deals worth $65million and the remaining $13.1million came from winnings. 

Woods was top of the list for 11 consecutive years until 2012, when he was usurped by Swiss tennis star Roger Federer.

This has been a year of rehabilitation for Woods, who has come out from seemingly self-imposed hiding after the fallout from his multiple extramarital affairs surfaced.

Silver and bronze: Tennis star Roger Federer came in second with $71.5million and basketball legend Kobe Bryant made $61.9million

Meeting of the money makers: LeBron James went over to greet David Beckham after the soccer star watched the Miami Heat's game on June 3. James made $59.8million and Beckham made $47.2million, making him the highest-earning Brit on the Forbes list in 8th place

Now he is very publicly dating Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, and the two have attended a number of red carpet events together including the annual ball at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Though Vonn is wealthy in her own right from her endorsement deals following Olympic medals, she did not make the cut of Forbes' top 100 athletes.

 

There were only three women who did actually make the list. Though Maria Sharapova is currently ranked number two to Serena Williams in the tennis world, Sharapova beat her by a wide margin in the Forbes list as the Russian blonde came in 22nd with $29million while the younger Williams sister ranked 68th with $20.5million. 
 
While Federer may have had his money crown taken back by Tiger, he still came in second place over all on the Forbes list, earning $71.5million.

On and off the court: Maria Sharapova is ranked second in tennis to Serena Williams, but Sharapova made $8.5million more than the number 1 champ last year

The next four spots are held by Americans who are at the top of their fields: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James came in third and fourth with $61.9million and $59.8million respectively. 

The basketball stars are following closely by two football stars: Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers with $51million and $49million respectively.
 

Baseball is the most represented sport on the list with 27 stars present. There are athletes from 11 different sports represented, hailing from 23 different countries.

The highest represent Brit on the list is David Beckham in eighth, having taken home $47.2million last year. 

The former England captain is also the highest placed footballer, just ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in ninth and Lionel Messi in 10th.

The World’s Top 10 Highest-Paid Athletes:

Rank	Athlete	Sport	Total ($m)	Salary/winnings ($m)	Endorsements ($m)
1	Tiger Woods	Golf	78.1	13.1	65.0
2	Roger Federer	Tennis	71.5	6.5	65.0
3	Kobe Bryant	Basketball	61.9	27.9	34.0
4	LeBron James	Basketball	59.8	17.8	42.0
5	Drew Brees	American Football	51.0	40.0	11.0
6	Aaron Rodgers	American Football	49.0	43.0	6.0
7	Phil Mickelson	Golf	48.7	4.7	44.0
8	David Beckham	Football	47.2	5.2	42.0
9	Cristiano Ronaldo	Football	44.0	23.0	21.0
10	Lionel Messi	Football	41.3	20.3	21.0