Lionel Messi, father sentenced to 21 months in jail for tax fraud

Just over a week ago, Lionel Messi retired from international play after Argentina fell in the semi-finals of the Copa America tournament. Now, it seems like he has something to deal with off the field after he and his father Jorge were both sentenced to 21 months in jail due to tax fraud.

Spanish outlet El Periodico reported that the pair were found guilty on three counts of fraud on Wednesday during a court hearing in Barcelona.

The charges stemmed from Messi and his father defrauding Spanish authorities of $4.5 million from 2007 to 2009.

This case has been well-known for a long while, but it is highly unlikely that Messi will actually serve any jail time. Both he and his father will likely only be hit with probation as any jail time under two years for a first offender usually doesn’t see a person put behind bars.

Lionel Messi has been very open and honest about this case as he did admit to signing contracts without reading them in the past. Now that this seems to be behind him, maybe he can focus on continuing to be one of the greatest soccer players in the world today.

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