Things just go from bad to worse for Lionel Messi. First he quit the Argentina football team following a loss to Chile (for the second year in a row) in the title match at Copa America. Now frustration has turned to worry as Lionel and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, have been sentenced to 21-months in prison for "fiscal offenses" and facing fines.





Lionel Messi, Argentinian football icon for the current generation, and his father Jorge Horacio Messi will pay a fine and likely see no jail time for dodging about €4.1 million in taxes tied to imaging rights and earnings during 2007, 2008, and 2009. L. Messi has denied knowledge of the matter but that has not prevented Spanish courts from coming at him and his father. As Reuters reports this morning:

UPDATE: Spanish court says sentences for Messi, father can be appealed through Supreme Court — Reuters Sports (@ReutersSports) July 6, 2016

UPDATE: Spanish court also sentences Messi's father to 21-month prison sentence, around 1.5 million euros for tax crimes. — Reuters Sports (@ReutersSports) July 6, 2016

According to La Vanguardia Messi and his father were convicted for committing "three fiscal offenses" and the court "imposed a sentence of seven months in prison for each defrauding public finances committed in 2007, 2008, and 2009."

Messi apparently had been unaware of how his father was mishandling the footballer's finances. The younger Messi claimed in court that he would merely sign official documents without reading on the understandable blind trust he had in his father. However, Lionel's inability to trust-but-verify has now left him in a bind and possibly wishing he had one of Hillary Clinton's contacts so he could duck any and all charges of wrong-doing.

That said, the Barcelona icon will likely not actually end up in prison: under Spanish law a prison sentence under two years can be served under probation, meaning Messi and his father will most likely remain free.