Spain ’ s Supreme Court on Wednesday confirmed a 21 - month jail sentence and 2 . 09 - million - euro ( $ 2 . 25 million ) fine imposed on Lionel Messi for tax fraud, months after the Barcelona football star lodged an appeal .
The Argentina international and his father Jorge Horacio Messi were in July 2016 found guilty of using companies in Belize , Britain , Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on 4 . 16 million euros of Messi ’ s income earned from his image rights from 2007 - 09 .
The income related to Messi ’ s image rights that was hidden includes endorsement deals with Danone, Adidas , Pepsi- Cola , Procter & Gamble and the Kuwait Food Company .
Both Messi and his father were given 21 months in jail — sentences likely to be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences for non - violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years .
They appealed to the Supreme Court .
While the court confirmed the sentence for Messi on Wednesday , it reduced it to 15 months jail for his father , taking into account that his football star son had paid back the defrauded money to tax authorities .
During last year ’ s trial , Messi had argued that he trusted his father with his finances and “ knew nothing ” about how his wealth was managed.
But the Supreme Court argued that he would have known about his obligation to pay taxes on income earned from his image rights .
Messi ’ s tax fraud trial in June last year took place against a backdrop of simmering voter anger over steep cuts to health and social spending, as the government struggles to bring Spain ’ s public deficit down .
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