Samuel Eto’o facing 10-year prison sentence in latest fraud case

Spanish prosecutors are seeking a prison term of more than 10 years for former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o for alleged tax crimes committed when he played for the Catalan club.

In addition to a sentence of 10 years and six months, prosecutors are also demanding a fine of $15.1 million for the four counts of tax fraud for supposedly defrauding Spain’s tax authority of almost $4m from 2006-09, according to court documents released on Thursday.

Prosecutors are seeking the same punishment for the player’s representative at the time, Jose Maria Mesalles Mata. The administrator of a company that facilitated the deals, Manuel de Jesus Lastre Abreu, is facing more than six years in prison and a fine of $2.3m.

Prosecutors also want Eto’o to relinquish any possible fiscal incentives for a long period.

Eto’o and his lawyers could not be immediately contacted for comment, but in the past the player denied wrongdoing, saying he was not directly involved in his tax matters.

Eto’o is among a number of other current and past Barcelona players facing legal problems in Spain.