The world's best player will grilled under oath about in September - potentially on a day that his team are due to appear in the Champions League.
The Argentine national is alleged to have defrauded the Spanish government of around £3.4million between 2007 and 2009.
Messi will appear along with his father Jorge Horacio Messi – allegedly ‘the brains’ behind the operation – in court on September 17.
His court appearance could clash with Barcelona's Champion's League opening game - set to be played that day or the next.
The court summons suggests the 25-year-old – who denies the allegations – did not strike a deal with tax authorities which could have seen him pay a £20million fine to avoid court.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo claims the court will seek several sanctions in the meantime, including suspension of his passport, in order to restrict his movement.
This would rule Messi out of Barcelona’s forthcoming global pre-season tour that includes fixtures in eastern Europe and Asia worth millions to the player in image rights.
if convicted, the footie ace could face up to SIX YEARS in jail or be ordered to pay fines of up to six times the amount allegedly defrauded.
At the time of the allegations, Messi said: “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.”
The 25-year-old, recognised as the best player in the world, is rumoured to earn £250,000-a-week and £13MILLION in endorsements.
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.
The Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell, defended the club’s star player on Saturday.
He said: “We are with him and his family because we don’t have any doubt about his innocence.”
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