Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud according to Spanish media.
Messi and his father, Jorge, wer charged with three counts of tax fraud worth €4.1million, dating back to a period from 2007 to 2009.
BBC Sports cited several Spanish reports that the Argentina footballer and his dad have been given prison terms for their tax crimes.
Messi is likely not to go to prison; in Spanish law, prison sentences of less than two years can be served under probation.
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.
Proceedings began on Tuesday, May 31 but the Barcelona forward arrived to testify in person on Thursday, June 2 just four days before he is due to represent Argentina in the Copa America Centenario in the United States.
The 28-year-old denied knowledge of any fraudulent activities, stating that football was his only focus.
“I never asked my dad about these things,” Messi is quoted as telling the court by AS.
“The truth is that, as I said before, I trusted him and the lawyers. I didn’t know anything about it, I just played football.”
When questioned about the existence of a company called Jenbril, registered in Uruguay to handle payments relating to his image rights, Messi said: “I didn’t know I was a member and manager of this company, I signed it because he [Jorge Messi] said so and I trusted him and the lawyers.
“All I knew was that I was signing a deal with sponsors to do adverts, photo shoots and things like that.
“I remember we went to a notary but I was 18 when I signed it and as you can imagine, I was in a different world. I don’t remember anything about it.”
Jorge Messi repeatedly told the court his son ‘knew nothing about it’.
Messi is the second Barcelona player to be sentenced to prison for tax offences in 2016.
Defender, Javier Mascherano in January, was sentenced to a combined 12-month prison term for two separate tax offences.
This was after he admitted to a judge in October 2015 that he failed to declare his earnings from 2011 and 2012 at a hearing.
Another Barcelona player, Neymar is currently in legal battle with authorities in Spain over tax issues.
