The good news for soccer star Lionel Messi is that he won’t be going to jail for defrauding the Spanish tax authorities. The bad news is that he’s been fined $2.3 million.
A Barcelona court ruled that between 2000 and 2009, Messi was guilty of tax fraud and that for each of those three years he should serve a sentence of seven months.
However, because this was the first time the Barcelona forward had committed an offence and his sentence was less than two years, the 29-year-old Messi won’t serve jail time as long as he doesn’t break the law again.
Messi’s father Jorge Messi was also handed a 21-month jail sentence and a $1.7 million for tax fraud, though like his son he won’t serve time as he also doesn’t have a criminal record.
Barcelona and Messi were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN.