Barcelona FC player Leo Messi and his father have been found guilty in the court case followed against them for tax fraud, Spanish media has today reported.

Messi and his father were accused of evading taxes worth €4.1m through a structure of off shore companies located in tax havens.

A criminal court in Barcelona has given each of them 21-month sentences but they will avoid jail time as under Spanish law, defendants convicted to sentences of less than two years are eligible for release on parole.