The Barcelona star and his father Jorge have both been given 21-month jail sentences after being found guilty of evading €4.1million (Dh16.7m) in tax by using offshore companies to hide the player’s earnings from image rights earned through commercial deals between 2007 and 2009.
But according to the Spanish legal system, prison sentences of less than two years are served under probation rather than in jail for first-time offenders.
In addition to the suspended jail sentence, the court has ordered Messi to pay a fine of ¤2m (Dh8.15m), while his father must pay a sum of (Dh6.1m).
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What has Messi been found guilty of?
Simple answer: dodging tax. Complex answer: setting up a web of offshore companies to funnel the money he earned through his commercial endorsements (not his salary from Barcelona, who have not been accused of any wrongdoing). His father, who acts as his business manager, has been similarly condemned with the judge rejecting his claim that tax advisors were to blame.
What did he claim?
Messi has maintained his innocence, claiming that he is only interested in playing football and that he has always entrusted his father to manage his finances – even more so considering the fact that he was only 20 when the crimes were committed (the period covered is 2007 and 2009). He said in court that he never reads the contracts that he signs.
What happens next?
Apart from an appeal, not much. Messi and his father will not go to prison because the sentence is for less than two years, and the 3.5m fine they’ve been handed is small change for someone who earns that much every month. The headlines of the story are dramatic, but the reality is that it won’t change much for him – unless sponsors withdraw their contracts, which looks unlikely.
What is the reaction in Spain?
That depends where you are. Real Madrid fans think he’s a pitiful criminal who has been lucky to get away with a prison sentence, but Barcelona followers argue he was only wrong to trust his father to look after his business affairs and has been made the victim in a politically motivated piece of conspiratorial skulduggery organised by the Madrid government.
