Barcelona star Lionel Messi has lost his Supreme Court appeal over a tax-fraud conviction in Spain, but will escape jail.

The court confirmed  five-time world footballer of the year’s 21-month prison sentence for defrauding tax authorities of EU$ 4.1 million (A$6.1 million) from 2007 to 2009.

But Messis is not expected to go to jail since prison sentences of less than two years for a first offence are typically suspended in Spain.

The court maintained the two million euro fine handed to the player in last year’s trial.

Messi has denied any involvement in the tax evasion and told his trial in June 2016: “I only worried about playing football.”

But in its decision on Wednesday, the court said: “It defies logic to concede that someone who earns a large income does not know that he must pay taxes on it”, the BBC reported.

Messi’s father, Jorge Horacio was also convicted over the tax fraud in 2016, but the court reduced his sentence from 21 months to 15 months for co-operating with authorities and returning a portion of the defrauded money.

He also is not expected to face prison time.

Messi’s high-profile trial was not the only case involving Barcelona players and the Spanish government.

Argentine defender Javier Mascherano admitted to tax fraud, escaping a jail term with a one-year suspended sentence.

Brazilian star Neymarda Silva Santos Júnior is also facing allegations of corruption and fraud over his transfer to Barcelona in 2013, allegedly involving millions concealed from authorities.

Messi’s was upheld in the same week that former club president Sandro Rosell was arrested as part of a money-laundering investigation.

– With AAP