Messi receives 21-month jail term for tax fraud; unlikely to serve time

A Spanish court has sentenced Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge, to 21 months in prison for tax fraud, though both are not expected to serve any time because of the country's laws for first-time offenders.

The decision comes after a court in Barcelona found the pair guilty on each of the three counts of tax fraud, according to The Associated Press.

However, neither will serve any time in jail as Spanish law states that sentences of less than two years are suspended for first-time offenders.

Instead, their respective sentences will be served under probation.

Both men were also fined, with the court ruling that Messi must pay €2 million, while his father was ordered to pay €1.5 million.

The sentencing follows a lengthy investigation which discovered that, between 2007 and 2009, Jorge had defrauded the country of €4.1 million, and that the pair withheld earnings from image rights using tax havens such as Belize and Uruguay.

Lionel claimed that he was oblivious throughout the trial to how his finances were being managed as he developed his career with Barcelona, while Jorge said he doesn't have the mental capacity to coordinate such an elaborate scheme.