Lionel Messi"s £3.2m tax fraud trial begins in Barcelona.

Barcelona's five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi went on trial on Tuesday along with his father on accusations of defrauding the Spanish state of millions of euros.

Messi and his father Jorge Horacio Messi, who have both denied the allegations, appeared in the Barcelona court on Tuesday. The star is expected to fly to the U.S. for the Copa America tournament when the trial ends. 

A previous court ruled that Messi, 28, could have known about and approved the creation of a web of shell companies allegedly used to evade taxes on income from image rights.