Lionel Messi has three children: Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro. Thiago was born in 2012, and Mateo and Ciro were born in 2015 and 2018, respectively.
Both Ronaldo and Messi have spoken publicly about their roles as fathers and the importance of their children in their lives. Both players are known to be dedicated to their families and are often seen spending time with their children during their free time. It is not uncommon for both players to share photos of their children on social media or to speak about them in interviews.
We know that Messi’s mother used to work as a house help but for me, the story of Messi and his father getting punishment for evading taxes was a shocker.
In 2013, Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge Messi, were charged with tax fraud in Spain. The Spanish authorities alleged that the pair had used companies in Belize, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to evade paying taxes on Messi’s image rights income between 2007 and 2009.
The case went to trial in 2017, and both Messi and his father were found guilty of tax fraud. Messi was sentenced to 21 months in prison, though under Spanish law, first-time offenders convicted of non-violent crimes can serve their sentences on probation. Messi’s father was also given a prison sentence, but he was reduced to probation due to his advanced age.
Both Messi and his father appealed the convictions, and in 2018, an appeals court in Spain upheld the original verdict but reduced Messi’s prison sentence to probation. The case received widespread media attention and sparked debate about tax evasion in Spain and beyond.
