The world of football temporarily came to a standstill earlier when the news broke that Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi had been given a 21-month prison term.
The Argentine, five times named the best footballer on the planet, and his father were found guilty of three counts of tax fraud, concealing £3.5m between 2007 and 2009.
And then everyone calmed down when they realised that the 29-year-old will not spend any time in jail because a two-year sentence in Spain can be served under probation.
But there was still room for some excellent Twitter reaction. Here is some of the best…
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He pays no tax, he just scores goals and goals. He pays no tax, he just pays none at all. Messi’s on fire, taxman is terrified…
— Alec Cobbett (@cobbler13) July 6, 2016
Messi escapes jail, pistorius escapes a life sentence, Blair will escape punishment, I got a ticket for parking outside Starbucks in derry.
— Adrian Barr (@tasbar7) July 6, 2016
So Lionel Messi is going to prison, its just like Vinnie Jones in ‘Mean Machine’, only with much better football https://t.co/sc67AWYnA5
— Dave Lunt (@dhlunt) July 6, 2016
Would love to see this remake…
I’ve probably read my timeline wrong, but Tony Blair, Oscar Pistorius and Lionel Messi are going to be cellmates in prison?
— John M O’Sullivan (@NotoriousJOS) July 6, 2016
I do love Messi, but if you evade tax, you’re a cunt.
— Euan McDougall (@EuanMcDougall) July 6, 2016
Lionel #Messi – far better tax dodger than Ronaldo #justsayin
— Joe O’Shea (@josefoshea) July 6, 2016
I still cant see how people say Messi is better than Ronaldo,ronaldo donates so much to charities and Messi doesn’t even pay tax,it’s a joke
— Kieran Smith (@kie_smithh) July 6, 2016
Not sure this is the time to settle the Messi v Ronaldo debate…
#Messi
There are things more importanat than footballer who didn´t pay his tax;
The fact that #AFC hasn´t buyed a striker yet, for example— Juri Gobbini (@JuriGobbini) July 6, 2016
Twice in a month Lionel Messi misses the pen
— Alex Bicknell (@AlexBicknell89) July 6, 2016
Bad year for Messi
— Taofeek (@HEAD_MASTA) July 6, 2016
Ballon d’Or, La Liga title, avoided prison…he’s probably had worse years.
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