Speaking at a press conference in Catalonia, Tebas said: “Of course I fear that [Messi] could leave”.
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Although, both father and son still have the chance to appeal against this verdict in the supreme court.
Lionel Messi will not have to serve his 21-month prison sentence for tax fraud, according to Spanish Football Federation presidential candidate Miguel Galan.
Under Spanish law, sentences under two years are usually suspended but, nonetheless, Barca have called on supporters to voice their “unconditional support on social networks”.
The Argentina footballer was found guilty of using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay as well as shell companies in the United Kingdom and Switzerland to avoid paying 4.1 million euros on earnings from image rights from 2007 to 2009.
Messi has always denied any knowledge of his tax affairs, saying he concentrated on football, while his father has claimed he left it all up to financial advisers.
Other worldwide football players have reached out to Messi asking him to stay in the league. A spokeswoman for the court confirmed that Messi, 29, was unlikely to be imprisoned. “He’s the best in the world”, Macri, a soccer fan himself, said.
The statement added: “The Club, in agreement with the Government prosecution service, considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish Tax Office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case”. I don’t think Leo Messi is a delinquent’.
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Argentina’s most famous forward is also experiencing legal trouble in Spain for tax fraud. Messi has won the Ballon d’Or five times and has led Barcelona to over 10 league titles. Barcelona in June agreed to pay a 5.5-million-euro fine in a deal with prosecutors that sees the club avoid trial on tax evasion charges over its signing of Brazilian striker Neymar from Santos in 2013.
