Javier Mascherano has told a Spanish court he did not properly pay his taxes following his move from Liverpool to Barcelona.
The Argentina international was charged with two counts of defrauding Spanish tax authorities in September after it was alleged he concealed earnings from image rights by using companies set up overseas.
Appearing at a Barcelona court on Thursday, Mascherano admitted he failed to pay more than £1m in taxes owed for 2011 and 2012.
The tax law in Spain permits a player to sell up to 15 per cent of his image rights to a company but the country’s tax authorities claimed Mascherano failed to pay taxes on those earnings.
Mascherano spent only a few minutes in court and was not questioned by prosecutors but the court’s press office said the 31-year-old has already paid back the amount he owed.
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