MADRID (AP) — A Barcelona court on Friday gave Lionel Messi and his father suspended sentences of 21 months in prison for tax fraud.
The court found both the Barcelona star and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, guilty of three counts of defrauding the tax department to the tune of 4.1 million euros ($4.6 million).
In Spain, sentences of less than two years for first offences are suspended, meaning neither man will go to jail.
The court also fined Messi 2 million euros and his father, 1.5 million euros.
During the four-day trial last month, Messi and his father denied any wrongdoing.