Messi and his father Jorge, who manages his finances, were both convicted in 2016 of defrauding Spain of €4.1m (£3.5m) in taxes between 2007 and 2009 in a dispute over the player’s image rights. The pair were also fined €2m (£1.7m).

Neither Messi nor his father are expected to serve time in jail, as under Spanish law sentences under two years can be served under probation.

A court statement said Messi ‘unequivocally understood his obligation to pay tax on income obtained from exploiting his image rights...therefore it is not logical that he should ignore his duty to pay tax on them’.

Jorge Messi's jail term was reduced to 15 months because he paid some of the taxes due on the income from image rights, which the court alleged had been avoided by using a web of shell companies based in Belize, Switzerland and Uruguay.

Miles Dean, international tax lawyer and founding partner of Milestone International Tax Consultants, said: ‘There is no doubt that a player such as Messi has extremely valuable image rights and that it is possible to structure their exploitation in a tax efficient manner.

‘However, one might argue that he earns so much from his Barcelona salary that there is no need to go to the lengths that he and his father did to deprive the tax authorities.

‘Lest we forget that Spain is bankrupt and the rule of law isn't adhered to in the same was as say the UK - one could equally argue that he's been made an example of.

‘The lesson here is not to risk pushing boundaries and to always seek professional advice.’