Spanish prosecutors have recommended that former Barcelona and Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o "should serve more than 10 years in prison for alleged tax crimes committed" while he played for the club, according to Jack de Menezes of the London INDEPENDENT. Spanish court documents "reveal that prosecutors are investigating four counts of tax fraud" that total nearly $4M from '06 until '09, when the Cameroon int'l left the club to join Inter Milan. They are demanding a fine of $15.1M for defrauding Spain’s tax authority, and are "seeking the same punishment for the player’s agent at the time, Jose Maria Mesalles Mata." The news comes a day after Spanish prosecutors recommended a two-year jail sentence and $10.6M fine be given to Neymar for "his part in a corruption case that surrounds his controversial transfer" to Barcelona. Eto’o’s former Barcelona teammate, Lionel Messi, "was charged with tax fraud earlier this year." Messi and Javier Mascherano received prison sentences of 21 months and 12 months, respectively, after being found guilty of tax fraud, "though they were suspended and resulted in neither serving any jail time providing they do not offend again during their suspended sentences" (INDEPENDENT, 11/24).
