Lionel Messi sentenced to jail time

BARCELONA, Spain, July 6 (UPI) -- Soccer superstar Lionel Messi was sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined about $2.3 million over tax evasion charges Wednesday, according to reports.

He will not serve jail time unless he breaks the law again.

In Spain, prison sentence's fewer than two years can be served under probation, according to CNN. Messi's father, Jorge, was also sentenced to 21 months in jail. Neither will serve actual jail time, due to their lack of criminal records.

A Spanish court found Messi and his father guilty of three counts of tax fraud. He was accused of creating fake companies in Belize and Uruguay "to avoid taxation on his lucrative image rights," according to Goal.com. Both parties can appeal to the Supreme Court.

After the verdict was revealed, Barcelona gave "all its support to Leo Messi and his father."

"The Club, in agreement with the Government prosecution service, considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish Tax Office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case."

"FC Barcelona continues to be at the disposal of Leo Messi and his family to support him in whatever action he decides to take in defense of his honesty and his legal interests."

Messi, 29, came in as the second-highest paid athlete in the world last year, raking in about $81.4 million, according to Forbes.

Messi recently retired from the Argentina national team, following its exit from the Copa America championship game.