The SBD Global staff compiled the top sports business stories for '14 by region. The World Cup was easily the biggest story of the year in Latin America. In Spain, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi was accused of tax evasion on earnings from image rights. Barcelona endured two off-field scandals, one related to its ’13 signing of Neymar. The club also is in the process of appealing a one-year transfer ban from FIFA for breaching regulations regarding the signing of youth players.
WORLD CUP: The cost of staging the tournament, estimated at $14B for host nation Brazil, caused numerous protests in the year leading up to the World Cup. Other subjects of controversy during the run-up to the event included delays in construction at many of the 12 stadiums that hosted games. A total of nine construction workers died building stadiums, including at least three at building sites in Sao Paulo. Memorable on-field storylines during the tournament included Spain’s early exit, Uruguayan Luis Suarez biting Italian Giorgio Chiellini and Germany’s victory in the finals.
BARCELONA SCANDALS: Former club President Sandro Rosell was forced to resign in January over a lawsuit alleging he misappropriated funds related to Neymar’s transfer. Barcelona later paid Spain’s tax authorities €13.5M, but the club maintained its innocence of fraud charges. In April, FIFA and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) hit Barça with heavy sanctions for breaching int’l transfer regulations. The punishment included a fine of more than $500,000 and a one-year ban from buying players during transfer windows. The club is in the process of appealing the ruling, and was active during the summer window, signing Suarez.
MESSI CASE: Messi faces accusations of tax evasion, with the player and his father accused of not paying more than €4M ($4.9M) on his image rights from ’07-09. In the latest development in his case, in October a Spanish court rejected an appeal to drop the charges, ordering the investigation to continue. The court had ruled in July that there was sufficient evidence to believe Messi “could have known and consented” to avoid paying his taxes. Messi and his father made a “corrective payment” of €5M in Aug. '13.
