BARCELONA, Spain — A Spanish court on Wednesday sentenced the Argentine superstar Lionel Messi to 21 months in jail after he was found guilty of tax fraud for using offshore companies to avoid paying Spanish taxes on advertising contracts. But under Spanish law, he is unlikely to serve any time.
Messi was also fined about 2.1 million euros, or $2.3 million, by a court in Barcelona. Offenders in Spain are typically imprisoned for financial crimes only if the sentence is at least two years or if they already have a criminal record, neither of which applies to Messi.
Messi is expected to appeal the sentence.
The soccer player’s father, Jorge Horacio Messi, also received a 21-month jail term and a €1.6 million fine, and he is expected to appeal the sentence as well. He is also unlikely to be imprisoned.
The case against Messi, who plays for the Spanish powerhouse Barcelona, and his father dates back to 2013, when a state prosecutor opened an investigation into whether they had defrauded the state of €4.1 million. The investigation focused on the player’s tax returns filed between 2007 and 2009.
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