Samuel Eto'o handed 22-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to £3m tax evasion

Former Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o has received a 22-month suspended prison sentence by Spanish authorities after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

The 41-year-old admitted defrauding the Spanish Public Treasury of €3.9million (£3.3m) during his time at Barcelona between 2006 and 2009. Eto'o has partially repaid the fee and been ordered to pay a further €1.8m (£1.6m) in fines after pleading guilty.

As reported by Sport, the retired Cameroon international failed to pay tax on the income he received from the transfer of image rights from Puma to Barcelona. He's accepted his mistake but insists his former agent Jose Maria Mesalles was responsible for the evasion.

Mesalles has also been handed a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay €905,155 (£777,000) in fines for his role in the offence. Eto'o described the representative as a "father" figure in court and protested the evasion was unintentional on his behalf.

The image rights were reportedly taxed through companies in Hungary and Spain to ensure less tax was paid. "I admit the facts and I will pay, but let it be known that I was a child then and that I always did what my father [Mesalles] asked me to do," said Eto'o.

The ex-striker was around 25 years old when the offence was first committed in 2006 after joining Barcelona from Mallorca two years earlier. Neither Eto'o nor Mesalles will serve time in prison as they do not have previous criminal records.

Eto'o is one of the greatest forwards of his generation after enjoying a stellar career. He came through the ranks at Barcelona's bitter rivals Real Madrid but failed to make the grade in the Spanish capital, failing to score during his seven senior appearances.

Eto'o made a name for himself at Mallorca,