Messi donates money won in court case against newspaper

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi controls the ball during the Champions League group D soccer match between Olympiakos and Barcelona at Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Piraeus port, near Athens, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

MADRID — The company that manages Lionel Messi’s image rights says the player has donated more than 70,000 euros ($81,000) to the medical charity Doctors Without Borders after winning a court case against a Spanish newspaper.

The money was awarded to Messi for an article the La Razon newspaper published implying that the player was doping.

The company says Messi will continue to defend himself from accusations and insinuations against his honor.