Lionel Messi to Appeal 21 Months Prison Sentence

Lawyers of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and his father Jorge have announced that they will appeal the 21-month prison sentences slammed on their clients for tax fraud on Wednesday.

Yesterday, a Spanish court sitting in Barcelona found Messi, 29, guilty of defrauding Spain’s taxman of €4.1 million on monies made from his image rights between 2007 and 2009.

Messi was also fined six weeks’ wages (€1.7m) following the court’s ruling, with his father asked to pay €1.5m.

The Argentine is not expected to serve time in jail as sentences under two years for individuals with no prior convictions can be suspended under Spanish law.

Messi’s lawyers however say they consider the sentence to be “symbolic”, insisting that the player and his father are innocent of the charges and that they will continue to fight the decision, according to Goal.com sources.

The lawyers argue that the case made for convicting Messi, which was the legality of companies created in Belize and Uruguay, should actually lead to his acquittal.

The appeal will be filed with the Spanish Supreme Court, whose ruling will be delivered in less than a year.