According to a statement from the authorities, the Argentinian international will be required to pay the equivalent of €400 for each day of the sentence, which was handed down after Messi and his father Jorge were found guilty of a €4.1m fraud related to the player’s image rights.

Both men were found guilty of using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay between 2007 and 2009. As well as suspended jail terms, Messi was fined €2m and his father €1.5m. They made a voluntary €5m ‘corrective payment’, equal to the alleged unpaid tax plus interest, in August 2013.

Messi’s father’s 15-month sentence has been replaced with a €180,000 fine. Neither man was expected to spend time in prison, as under the Spanish system, jail sentences of under two years can be served under probation.

It has recently been reported that Messi has signed a new contract with Barcelona, giving him up to €565,000 a week until June 2021, making him the highest-paid player in European football.