Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for indulging in tax fraud by a Spanish Court. Messi and his father both denied the charges of fraud but the court rejected their defence.
Jorge Messi, Messi’s father, was also given a term sheet for defrauding Spain of €4.16m between 2007 and 2009. They were also accused of creating some fake companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid taxation.
“I was playing football, I knew nothing” said Messi in his defence.
According to Messi’s father, Lionel Messi didn’t know the terms of his contracts. He stated that “I didn’t think it was necessary to inform him of everything”.
However under the Spanish system any sentence under two years can be served under probation. It means neither Messi nor his father will be serving time in prison.