A 21-month jail term handed down last year to Barcelona and Argentina footballer Lionel Messi has been confirmed by Spain’s Supreme Court, but he is unlikely to go to prison.
Messi and his father Jorge, who manages his finances, were both convicted in 2016 of defrauding Spain 4.6m dollars in taxes.
Jorge Messi’s jail term was reduced to 15 months because he paid some of the taxes.
In Spain, prison terms of under two years can be served under probation.
The case will now return to the court in Barcelona that handed down the original judgement.
Both men were originally convicted of three counts of fraud, for using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay between 2007 and 2009, and were also given heavy fines.
