The Supreme Court of Spain on Wednesday, May 24, dismissed FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi's appeal over his severe punishment in the tax evasion case.
The apex court has ruled that Messi's 21-month jail sentence as well as a fine of $2.2 million, stays as announced. Messi was sentenced in July 2016 over three counts of tax fraud between 2007 and 2009.
However, here comes the twist.
Don't worry Messi fans, the 29-year-old may not be serving a prison sentence after all as according to the Spanish law, a tax prison sentence under two years can be served under probation.
To be more clear, any individual who is acquitted for less than two years for a non-violent crime, will not serve a prison sentence, given that he is not charged for any other crime in the past.
Messi had mentioned that during those periods, he had very little knowledge about the financial affairs and that his dad Jorge Messi took care of everything.
