Guilty verdict unlikely to unduly tax Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi being found guilty of tax fraud yesterday, and handed a prison sentence of 21 months and fine of €3.5 million, is unlikely to cause too many long-term on-field problems for either the Barcelona star or his team.

The most obvious impact of the ruling is the sentence will almost surely be suspended so Messi will not be stopped from training or playing for Barca. There will also be no issues travelling outside Spain to play in the Champions League, or for Argentina should he go back on a recent decision to quit international football. While it’s always difficult to know exactly what goes on inside the head of such a complex individual, Messi can be affected when things do not go his way. Last month’s international retirement was a spur of the moment decision immediately after he missed a penalty during a Copa America final shoot-out defeat to Chile.

When his problems with the Spanish taxman first surfaced over three years ago, the subsequent 2013/14 season was the worst of Messi’s club career. Barca finished runners-up in both La Liga and the Copa del Rey, and were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals.