Michel Platini, Lionel Messi named in leaked documents

Disgraced Fifa officials, suspended Uefa chief Michel Platini and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi were amongst the names found on Sunday in leaked documents which reveal offshore financial dealings.

‘The Panama Papers’ claim the law firm of a Fifa ethics watchdog had business relationships with three men recently indicted in football’s global corruption scandal.

Documents also bring to light how some players use offshore companies to bank money from image rights deals.

The findings are the result of a year-long investigation by the Internatio-nal Consor-tium of Investigative Journalists, the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and other media outlets.

The records show that a law firm belonging to Juan Pedro Damiani, a member of Fifa’s Independent Ethics Committee, did work for offshore companies linked to Eugenio Figueredo, a former Fifa vice president who has been indicted in the US on wire fraud and money laundering charges.

“The records do not show illegal conduct by Damiani or his law firm. But they do raise new questions for Damiani and Fifa,” said the report issued by the ICIJ.

A spokesman for the ethics panel told the ICIJ that Damiani had informed the committee in March that he has had business ties to Figueredo.