Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after a court in Barcelona found him guilty of three counts of tax fraud, a statement from the court said on Wednesday.

Messi and his father Jorge Horacio Messi are accused of evading €4.1 million in tax in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

According to Spanish law, if a suspect receives a prison sentence of less than two years, they can serve it under probation. It means that Messi and his father probably won’t serve jail time.

BREAKING: #Messi & father get 21-month sentences on tax charges – La Vanguardia https://t.co/3YbmLN6Chz pic.twitter.com/pXfqr7U155

— RT Sport (@rtsportnews) July 6, 2016

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

The court ordered the Argentinian football star to pay some €2 million and his father to fork out €1.5 million.

On the professional side Messi has recently taken retirement from the national team after they lost to Chile in the Copa America cup.

Tags: FootballLionel MessiLionel Messi handed jailLIONEL MESSI SENTENCED JAILMESSI TO FACE JAILSports News

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