Messi’s 21-month Prison Sentence To Be Replaced With €252,000

Spain’s public prosecutor has agreed to swap the 21-month suspended prison sentence given to Lionel Messi for tax fraud for a fine.

The Barcelona player had been found guilty of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of 4.1 million euros, along with his father, but a lack of previous offences and the fact they agreed to pay the money owed means the original punishment is set to be scrapped.

Under Spanish law, Messi would not have had to serve jail time for such a short sentence anyway, but now he will not have any months against his name, legal sources have informed Efe.

According to El Mundo, the player will pay 252,000 euros, while his father will pay 180,000 euros, with the proposed amounts based on the criteria used when Javier Mascherano was handed a similar punishment by same Catalan court.

This comes despite the fact that the Supreme Court upheld Messi’s 21-month sentence and reduced his father’s to 15 months in May.