MESSI SENTENCED TO 21 MONTHS IN PRISON!!

Lionel Messi and his father sentenced to suspended 21-month prison term over tax charges in Spain

The court ordered Messi to pay a fine of around £1.7million (2 million euros) and his father to pay £1.3m (1.5 million euros)


Lionel Messi and his father Jorge have been sentenced to 21 months in prison after a court in Barcelona found him guilty of three counts of tax fraud.

The sentence can be appealed through the Spanish supreme court, a statement from the court said.

It is unlikely Messi or his father will serve a stretch behind bars, however. Under Spanish law, a prison sentence under two years can be served under probation if you have no prior criminal record.

The court ordered Messi to pay a fine of around 2 million euros (£1.7million) and his father to pay 1.5 million euros (£1.3million).

Messi and his father were both found guilty by a court in Barcelona of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of €4.1million (£3.5m) in the period between 2007 and 2009 by not paying tax on image rights earnings.

Messi, whose father Jorge was a co-defendant and received the same sentence, was handed a term of under two years and thus, under Spanish law, is unlikely to have to go to prison unless he offends again.