He also paid back the unpaid tax plus €200,000 in interest.
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However, after a court appearance on Thursday, Mascherano avoided the custodial sentence and announced that he has since been cleared of the charges against him.
In Spain sentences less than two years are normally suspended unless the guilty party has previous convictions.
Barcelona’s Argentinian defender Javier Mascherano (2nd R) arrives at the courthouse on January 21, 2016 in Barcelona.
‘To deal with what are for me technical and complicated matters, I have to rely on other people.
The 31-year-old appeared in court today aiming to avoid going to prison over a 1.5m euros (£1.1m) tax fraud.
Mascherano later sought to explain the situation further adding, “After my arrival at Barcelona, I signed up with a prestigious company with an excellent reputation”.
“My new advisers recommended I pay the taxes demanded by the Treasury, presenting what they called “corrections”.
The Argentine player, who has played for Barcelona since 2010, was accused by Spain’s tax office of concealing part of what he earned in image rights. “I have always been an honest and responsible person throughout my career and have always respected my team-mates, the clubs I’ve represented and the countries I’ve lived in”.
“Now, finally and following a bitter delay, we have reached this agreement, which restores to me the peace of mind of having fulfilled my obligations”.
“This situation I am now in I am taking as yet another life experience, from which I will emerge with strength and calm because I know I am once again within the law”.
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Mascherano said he may take legal action against the tax consultants that he originally hired who, he said, “recommended what was not correct”.
