The Barcelona state prosecutor said on Friday it was not opposed to substituting a 21-month prison sentence for a fine for tax fraud handed down to Lionel Messi, as long as the fine was the maximum allowed under law.

The maximum fine would be €255,000, on top of a nearly €2m fine paid by the 29-year-old as part of last year's sentence.

Neither is the prosecutor opposed to suspending the Barcelona players's prison sentence, and that of his father, on proviso that they have no more brushes with the law for three years given that both have had clean criminal records up to now.

The decision means that the 21-month prison sentence has been swapped for a fine worth less than Messi’s weekly wage.

Messi and his father Jorge were found guilty by a Catalan court last July on three counts of tax fraud between 2007 and 2009 to the tune of €4.1m on image rights.

The Argentine was never expected to serve time in jail. Under the Spanish system prison terms of under two years can be served under probation.

The judge in charge of the case will now make a decision bearing in mind the prosecutor's recommendations. Judges usually follow the state prosecutor's recommendations in Spain.