Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time. With record-breaking contracts, global endorsements, and hundreds of millions earned on and off the field, Messi’s financial success has been as extraordinary as his athletic career. Yet even global icons are not immune to tax enforcement.
In 2016, Spanish courts found Messi guilty of tax fraud for unpaid taxes on image rights income earned between 2007 and 2009. The case centered on Messi’s use of offshore companies in Belize and Uruguay, which prosecutors argued were deliberately structured to conceal income from Spanish tax authorities.
Spanish prosecutors alleged that Messi and his father, Jorge Messi, created and used shell companies to route lucrative endorsement and image-rights income in order to avoid paying Spanish taxes. The amount at issue totaled approximately €4.1 million (roughly $4.5 million at the time).
Messi’s defense maintained that he was focused solely on football and relied on advisers to handle his financial affairs. His father, who managed many of his business dealings early in Messi’s career, took primary responsibility for the financial structure. Nevertheless, Spanish courts rejected the argument that ignorance absolved Messi of responsibility.
The court ruled that while Messi may not have designed the scheme himself, he knew, or should have known, how his income was being handled.
Messi was sentenced to:
21 months in prison (later reduced to fines under Spanish law, which typically suspends sentences under two years for non-violent first-time offenders)
A fine of approximately €2 million
Full repayment of the back taxes and interest
His father received a longer sentence, which was later reduced on appeal.
Importantly, Messi did not serve jail time, but the conviction itself stood, a rare and highly visible outcome for a global sports figure.
Image-rights income is one of the most aggressively scrutinized areas of international tax enforcement, especially in Europe. Athletes often earn more from endorsements, licensing, and branding than from salary alone. Problems arise when:
Income is routed through offshore entities
The entities lack a real business purpose
The taxpayer resides in a high-tax country
Advisors push aggressive structures without full disclosure
Spanish authorities, in particular, have made a point of pursuing high-profile athletes, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and others, to send a clear message about compliance.
Following the conviction, Messi paid all outstanding taxes, penalties, and fines. In later years, he publicly expressed regret over the situation and emphasized that he had relied too heavily on advisers early in his career.
The case did not appear to damage Messi’s long-term legacy or earning power, but it did permanently attach his name to one of the most well-known sports tax cases in history.