A Catalonia court on Wednesday sentenced Argentina and Barcelona football star Lionel Messi and his father Jorge to 21 months in prison over evasion offences particularly on Lionel’s image rights, with more than €4m owed in back payments.
However, Messi and his father will not be sent to the prison because the sentence is less than two years and both have no previous criminal record.
Prosecutors had alleged that tax havens in Belize and Uruguay were used to conceal earnings from image rights. But Messi said he “knew nothing” about his financial affairs, while his father said he was told by a legal adviser that the practice was legal.
A statement from the players club reads: “FC Barcelona gives all its support to Messi and his father with relation to the sentence for tax evasion handed out by the provincial court in Barcelona today and in whatever action he decides to take in defence of his honesty and his legal interests.”
“The club, in agreement with the government prosecution service, considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish tax office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case.
The conviction is unlikely to hinder Messi’s football career, however, with the 29-year-old now free to attend Barcelona’s first day of pre-season training next week.
The disputed tax payments date back to a period from 2007-2009, a time when Messi helped to transform Barça into the world’s best team. He has now, however, been fined €1.7m for three counts of tax fraud, while his father has been given a €1.3m fine, although both men can appeal against these sentences at the Supreme Court.
Messi is not the only Barcelona star to come under scrutiny for his tax affairs, as team-mate Neymar was recently fined almost £40m by a Brazilian court for evading tax on his sponsorship deals, while last year, Javier Mascherano received a 12-month prison sentence for tax avoidance, but also did not have to serve the jail term.
