In addition, he will have to pay €2 million fine.
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Messi, 28, and his father, Jorge, deny any wrongdoing in the case.
Lionel Messi and his dad Jorge are charged of defrauding the Spanish government of roughly $5 million in income taxes by setting up offshore companies in tax-haven nations, such as Uruguay and Belize.
Barcelona have backed Lionel Messi in his tax fraud case and will fight “the external decisions” they claim are unfairly targeting the club.
“The jail sentence that the state attorney is asking for does not mean it would be served in full”, the statement added.
The decision is considered a win for Lionel Messi, who had also been mentioned in the investigation.
According to reports, the judge presiding over the case had rejected any plea considering Messi immune to any of the charges filed against him.
Messi Jr, who is now sidelined by injury and unlikely to play again until late November, is likely to be called as a witness when the trial eventually takes place.
“In its statement, the Prosecutor’s Office widely discussed the reasons for not accusing Lionel Messi”.
Messi’s lawyers have argued that the player had “never devoted a minute of his life to reading, studying or analysing” the contracts, El Pais newspaper have reported.
LONDON • At least one in every 100 athletes is likely to be doping, according to figures released by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), which also show that football carried out more drug tests than any other sport a year ago.
Jorge Messi made a corrective payment of $5.6 million to cover the amount owed plus interest in 2013.
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Named by Forbes magazine as the fourth richest sportsman in the world, the 28-year-old Messi is estimated to earn in the region of £42m a year through his club wages and a series of high-profile endorsements.
