Lionel Messi has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for tax fraud, the Spanish media are reporting today.
The Barcelona striker was given a sentence of 21 months for three counts of tax fraud on a sum of €4.1 million (£3.5m), using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay in order to hide his earnings. His father, Jorge Horacio Messi, was sentenced alongside him.
Despite the prison sentence, Spanish law dictates that prison sentences under two years can instead be served under probation, meaning that it’s very unlikely Messi and his father will serve jail time. According to the BBC, Messi claimed ignorance of his crime, saying he “knew nothing” about his finances as he was “playing football” instead.
The court order Messi and his father to pay fines of €2 million (£1.7m) and €1.5 million (£1.3m) respectively. The court also released a statement saying that Messi and his father can appeal the charges.
Prosecutors stated that Messi’s father was solely responsible for the tax fraud, though the tax office’s legal representatives said that Messi knew enough to be charged, too.
