Argentina and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and his father have been sentenced for their involvement in tax fraud.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was handed a 21-month prison sentence the matter by a court in Spain on Wednesday after being found guilty of three counts of fraud.

Due to rules in Spain, Messi will not spend any time in jail because the sentence is under two years in duration.

Messi was also fined €2-million while his father was slapped with a fine of €1.5m for their role in defrauding Spain of €4.1m between 2007 and 2009. Those amounts are in excess of what Messi has already paid. In 2013, he paid €5m in arrears and extra charges while further reports have the family paying €10m for income earned on his image rights earnings in 2010 and 2011.

Both Messi and his father, Jorge, have consistently denied their involvement with Messi saying he ‘knew nothing’ about the management of his finances.