After hearing about the Lionel Messi tax fraud scandal, many are wondering about the Lionel Messi tax case so they are searching for terms such as: “Lionel Messi jailed,” “Lionel Messi sentenced,” and “Lionel Messi prison.” But how does this affect the Lionel Messi net worth or the Lionel Messi salary? Could it affect a future Lionel Messi contract? Here’s a look at how the tax fraud scandal might impact Messi’s family and finances.
Scandal
Lionel and his father, Jorge, were found guilty on three counts of tax fraud via the Spanish Supreme Court and were fined 3.5 million euro between the two of them. Lionel insisted that he knew nothing, and that he let his father handle the money while he focused on playing football. Jorge blamed the financial consultants, stating that he wasn’t clever enough to be the architect of such a financial crime. The pair won’t serve jail time though, due to the sentence being less than two years as dictated by the Spanish legal system. The Messi family has already made a voluntary “corrective payment” in the amount of 5.0 million euro, which was the amount owed plus interest.
Career
Lionel had a great career and was a decorated soccer player before he ultimately retired. Though he suffered a Copa America loss, it was incomparable to his many feats of success, from his Olympic gold medal to reaching his the 500th goal milestone of his career.
Though we are unclear as to how the latest scandal may impact his endorsements, we are sure that the fines associated to the tax fraud won’t put much of a dent in his $220.0 million net worth. And it’s safe to say that the Spanish government won’t be seizing his $5.0 million house or repossessing his cars in order to make retroactive payments and settle any legal fees. But we can’t lie, the optics of the whole situation don’t bode well for Lionel, so we will keep you posted as the story progresses.
