A Spanish court said on Friday it has exchanged a 21-month prison sentence handed to Soccer player Lionel Messi for tax fraud last July for a quarter-of-a-million-euro fine.

The Barcelona player and his father were found guilty by a Catalan court last year of three counts of tax fraud to the tune of 4.1 million euros ($4.68 million) over income earned from image rights.

The father also had his 15-month sentence exchanged for a fine of 180,000 euros, the court said.

Neither Messi or his father would have served time in jail following the original ruling as defendants without a previous conviction are permitted to serve any sentence of under two years on probation.

The key to any first time offence in Spain is whether the sentence comes in under or over two years.

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of evading 14.7 million euros in tax through offshore companies.

Gestha, the union of experts for the Spain's Inland Revenue service "Hacienda", believe Ronaldo would face a fine of at least €28m.

Messi's 21-month sentence has been converted into a 250,000 euro fine – 400 euros for every day of the sentence. This figure goes on top of the 2 million euros Messi had already paid.

Lionel Messi, who recently extended his contract with the Catalan club, is "the best paid player in the world," club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said Friday.

Barcelona announced Wednesday that Messi had agreed to extend his contract until 2021, in a deal that will keep the five times winner of the Ballon D'Or at the club until he is 34.

No financial terms were disclosed but Bartomeu told the Barcelona sports daily Mundo Deportivo: "He is the best player in the world and he is paid like the best in the world and in the history of football.