It was claimed they used tax havens in Uruguay and Belize in order to hide the true amount earned from those lucrative image deals.
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Lionel Messi and his father Jorge were convicted of tax fraud in Spain.
After the court delivered its verdict, Barcelona issued a statement “giving all its support to Leo Messi and his father”.
The Ballon d’Or holder has also been ordered to pay a fine of £1.7m, his father has also been fined £1.2 while the sentences can be appealed.
Messi – voted World Player of the Year five times – confirmed his global retirement in the run-up to the verdict after Argentina crashed to a defeat against Chile in the final of the Copa America. Messi had admitted to signing many documents without reading what they said, and on Wednesday was found guilty of said tax fraud. So it’s highly unlikely neither Messi nor his father will serve time.
The Argentine athlete and his father were accused of defrauding with 4.1 million euros to finance through a structure of companies in tax havens.
A Barcelona court found both men guilty of three counts of tax fraud.
Messi and his father made a voluntary €5m (Rs 37.5 crore approximately) “corrective payment” – equal to the alleged unpaid tax plus interest – in August 2013, the BBC reported.
Whatever the outcome, Barcelona have declared their intentions to support Messi and his father in any decision they make. Under Spanish law, though, they’ll likely avoid jail time. In Spain, sentences of less than two years can be served on probation.
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.
Messi’s appearance at court caused him to miss part of his team’s preparation for the Copa America in the United States.
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His dad added: “The only thing my son does is play football”.
