An investigating magistrate has ruled that legendary footballer Lionel Messi must stand trial over three counts of tax evasion alongside his father Jorge Messi, who is his agent, over the alleged offences between 2007 and 2009.

Prosecutors had agreed to drop the charges after Messi’s father paid the court £3.9m in a bid to settle the dispute with the Spanish taxman and agreed that he was in charge of the finances and said only he should stand trial.

But the Spanish Treasury refused to drop the case and a magistrate sitting in Gava, just outside Barcelona, yesterday ordered the 27-year-old footballer to also stand trial.

The four-time Fifa World Footballer of the Year is accused of failing to pay tax on earnings from image rights.

The magistrate ruled that it is possible Messi “may have known about and consented to the evasion of tax.”

And he said the Barcelona FC and Argentine senior international must stand trial “if there are indications that Lionel Messi may have known and consented to the evasion.”

The judge said “it is not necessary for someone to have complete knowledge of all the accounting and business operations” to be accused of tax evasion.

Messi gave evidence at the court of investigation in September last year and denied any knowledge of tax evasion, telling the magistrate: “My dad deals with all the money.”

He is alleged to have failed to pay income tax on £7.9m worth of earnings from image rights in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Messi earns millions of pounds a year from deals with adidas, Pepsi, Banco Sabadell and Proctor and Gamble.

Reports in Spain said the earnings had passed through shell companies in tax havens including Belize and Uruguay so as not to alert the Spanish taxman.

Messi has always insisted he has done nothing wrong since they case broke in 2013.

In July 2013 he said: “I’m not worried, I’m always on the sidelines of all of that, just like my dad. We have our lawyers and advisors who handle these things.”

Tax evasion of over £470,000 can be punished by up to six years in prison in Spain.

However, most cases are dealt with by fines of up to six times the amount of tax dodged – which in Messi’s case could mean a fine of up to £19.2m.

Experts believe prison is only usually used in serious cases involving criminal plots.

Messi is reported to earn £22.1m a year from Barcelona, of which he pays around £12.3m in income tax.

He joined Barcelona when he was 13 and is the club’s all-time top goal scorer.

Messi and his father have five days to appeal against the judge’s ruling.

•Adapted from a Saturday Star (London) report. Photo shows Lionel Messi.