Lionel Messi given 21-month suspended jail term for tax evasion

Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge Messi, have been found guilty of tax evasion to the tune of €4.1m (approx ₹30 crore) between 2007 and 2009 in Spain.

The Messis have also been accused of using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay to conceal revenue they earned from selling image rights.

"I was playing football, I knew nothing," Messi told the judge.

However, neither father nor son will have to serve time in jail as Spanish law dictates that prison terms under two years can be served under probation.

The footballer and his father have been found guilty on three counts of tax fraud in a ruling by the court in Barcelona.

Messi has been fined for €2 million while his father will have to shell out €1.5 million as penalty. Being one of the world's richest athletes, the €2 million fine will cause only a minor dent to his enormous corpus.

Did you know Messi earns a whopping €36 million per annum? Here are seven personal facts about Lionel Messi we bet you didn't know

Shortly after badly missing a crucial penalty kick in the Copa America final between Argentina and Chile, from international football.

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