Lionel Messi may not go to jail, but is this the end of his reign as football's best?

Unlike the writer of this editorial, you moderately gentle reader holding this newspaper or scrolling down on your screen this morning, are armed with the knowledge of which country is the new champions of European football. Not knowing whether the Champs-Élysées is thronging with French fans or whether Cristiano Ronaldo once again tore off his jersey with joy last evening, we will turn our gaze elsewhere.

To Lionel Messi, to be precise. The world’s finest footballer (sorry, CR7 fans who may have received a booster shot last night in the eternal ‘Who’s Better? Messi or Ronaldo?’) has been sentenced to prison for tax evasion. Luckily, for all tax evaders, Spanish laws make his trip to the clanger unnecessary.

But this will affect his football – if it hasn’t already. After losing in the Copa America final earlier, Messi announced that he would no longer play for Argentina. Which means now, he is solely a Barcelona Man. So no surprises that Barça has backed him to the hilt. But club president Josep Maria Baryomeu may have gone a bit overboard when he tweeted: “Leo, those who attack you are attacking Barça and its history.” Which is like blaming critics of Portugal’s conquistador past for their loss last night. If Portugal lost last night, that is.