He finished the La Liga season on a high note in May, with his team Barcelona romping to an incredible 24th championship title.
And it seems that Lionel Messi has been using his downtime away from the pitch to concentrate on his family, with the forward whisking his partner Antonella Roccuzzo and their sons off on holiday.
But when the family of four headed to Ibiza to soak up the sun aboard a yacht, the 29-year-old Argentine sensation was pushed out of the limelight, thanks to his 28-year-old love.
The family yachting holiday follows the news that Lionel is set to appeal against his conviction for tax evasion.
The long-running case relates to a scheme to avoid paying £3.4million of tax on Lionel Messi’s image rights.
The disputed tax payments date back to a period from 2007 to 2009, a time when Argentinian player Messi, now 29, helped to transform Barca into the world’s best team.
He has now, however, been fined £1.7m for three counts of tax fraud while his father has been given a £1.3m fine.
Messi has always denied any knowledge of his tax affairs, saying he concentrated on football, while his father has claimed he left it all up to financial advisers.
