MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona threw their support behind Lionel Messi on Thursday, insisting they had no doubt that the superstar was innocent of tax avoidance.

"We are all calm," said Barcelona president Sandro Rosell.

"His family have all of our support. I do not doubt their innocence." Argentina star Messi and his father Jorge Horacio have been accused of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of more than four million euros (S$6.7 million).