The Argentine attacker recently retired from his national team after missing a penalty in the shootout loss to Chile in the Copa America and now the Barcelona forward has been sentenced for tax fraud along with his father.
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He said his father had control over his financial affairs, but the court said on Wednesday that this was not enough to avoid charges.
In Spain, sentences of less than two years for first offences are usually suspended, meaning neither man would go to jail.
Messi’s father Jorge Messi was handed a 21-month jail sentence and a $1.7 million fine tax fraud, though also like his son he won’t serve time as he also doesn’t have a criminal record.
Messi, 29, and his father defrauded the Spanish tax office of nearly 4.2 million euros between 2007 and 2009 by using a web of shell companies to evade taxes on income from the player’s image rights, the court said in a written ruling.
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”.
It also helps they can pay their individual fines of $2.2 million and $1.6 million. Messi’s father said he was told by a legal adviser that the practice was legal.
They have denied wrongdoing.
Lionel Messi’s lawyers have on many occasions defended the Barcelona talisman by saying that he was not familiar with the tax issues that lead to the charges against him.
But there is good news for all Lionel Messi fans. Leo’s teammate Javier Mascherano was also prosecuted for allegations of tax fraud earlier this year.
Under the Spanish legal system, prison terms of under two years can be served under probation.
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Forbes ranked Messi as the second-highest paid athlete on the planet, earning an estimated $81.4 million a year ago through his salary and various endorsement deals.
