I want to make one thing perfectly clear before we begin: this isn’t about the soccer. I love Messi when he plays soccer. Messi lights up the world and makes my day better when he has a ball at his feet. This isn't even really about Messi. It isn't his fault Barcelona initiated a tone-deaf social media campaign to support him after he got convicted of tax fraud. It's Barcelona's fault. And now they've gone and made it worse.

Lionel Messi was convicted of tax fraud earlier this week and sentenced to two years in jail. He will most likely not serve any of that, as he is a first-time offender. For whatever reason, the powers that be in Barcelona's marketing department decided that, despite being an uber-wealthy, tax-dodging international superstar, Messi needs some sympathy.

France's Antoine Griezmann collected the Euro 2016 Golden Boot by scoring six goals, to go along with two assists, and he was also named the player of the tournament by UEFA’s technical observers.

Barcelona and Spain National Team midfielder Andres Iniesta is one of the best in the world at his position. He is also one of the best in the world at getting that money. But just how much money does he get? We broke down Andres Iniesta's net worth and salary.

Andres Iniesta's Net Worth

Andres Iniesta's net worth is approximately $90 million, according to celebritynetworth123.com.

No team on the planet passes the ball quite like Barcelona. The tiki-taka masters display a telepathic connection on the pitch that leads to some magisterial build up play and fantastic goals. Thanks to FC Barcelona’s official YouTube page, we can now watch Barcelona’s top 10 assists of the 2015-16 season.

Diego Simeone, entrenador del Atlético de Madrid, ha resumido su filosofía de entrenamiento en una breve frase: “El esfuerzo no es negociable”.

Simeone pone tanto énfasis en el colectivo del Atlético que ha prohibido las mesas pequeñas y divididas durante las comidas, lo que obliga a su equipo a sentarse en una gran mesa "cara a cara".

Durante el primer entrenamiento de pretemporada del Atlético de la temporada, Bernard Mensah descubrió de primera mano los métodos brutales de Simeone. ¡Bienvenido de nuevo, Sr. Mensah!

The court of Catalonia has sentenced Lionel Messi and his father Jorge to 21 months in prison for evading more than €4 million in owed tax payments. However, since the sentence is less than two years and both of the accused have a clean criminal record, they’ll likely escape serving any time behind bars.

Neymar’s brilliant 2015-16 season with Barcelona resulted in the Brazilian forward inking a new five-year contract with the club, including a staggering release clause starting at £167 million. 

Neymar scored a personal best 24 La Liga goals last campaign. He added four in the Copa del Rey and three in the UEFA Champions League — a grand total of 31 goals in 49 appearances.

Lionel Messi’s past and present Barcelona teammates have leapt to his defense following the Argentine’s shocking decision to retire from international football following Argentina’s defeat at the hand’s of Chile in the 2016 Copa America Centenario final.