Lionel Messi failed to win La Liga on Sunday, and has now another battle: appealing his 21-month prison sentence. The Argentine was slapped with this punishment for tax fraud alongside father and agent, Jorge Messi.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was found guilty last July on three counts of tax fraud, as Leo and Jorge were accused of defrauding the Spanish authorities of almost €4.2m. The father-son duo committed this crime between 2007 and 2009, using a web of shell companies to escape paying taxes on income from the player's image rights.
Both were slapped with the same punishment, but La Pulga was ordered to pay €2m fine – his father has to pay €1.5m. The Spanish Supreme Court rejected the appeal, but agreed to lower Jorge’s sentence from 21 months to 15.
Leo, who finished this season as La Liga top scorer, is not expected to spend a day behind bars. Spanish law states that any sentence under two years for a non-violent crime does not require time in prison as long as the accused has no previous criminal record.
The Argentine superstar insisted he had no role in this deceitful plot, insisting that he trusted his finances to others in order to remain “dedicated to playing soccer” only.
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