Messi Sentenced 21 Months In Prison For Tax Evasion Charges

Argentine and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has been sentenced 21 months in prison for tax evasion charges. According to BBC News, the footballer and his father were found guilty of three counts of tax fraud in Wednesday’s ruling by the court in Barcelona.

The past two weeks have been bad for Lionel Messi. Messi retired from International football about two weeks ago after missing a penalty. Now he has been sentenced 21 months in jail for tax fraud in Spain.

It is reported that Lionel Messi and his father Jorge Messi, they also face millions of euros in fines for using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay used to conceal earnings from image rights.

His father, Jorge Messi has a record that,he was also given a jail term for defrauding Spain of €4.1m (£3.5m) between 2007 and 2009

According to BBC News,Lionel Messi and his father Jorge Mess, they are hopeful to avoid jail.

Under the Spanish system, prison terms under two years can be served under probation.

BBC reported, Lionel and his father were found guilty of three counts of tax fraud in Wednesday’s ruling by the court in Barcelona.

During the trial, Lionel Messi defended he “knew nothing” about the management of his financial affairs, saying he was “playing football”.