Mascherano accepts one-year jail term in plea bargain - reports

Football Soccer - River Plate v FC Barcelona - FIFA Club World Cup Final - International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama - 20/12/15 River Plate's Leonardo Ponzio and FC Barcelona's Javier Mascherano in action Reuters / Toru Hanai Livepic

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano accepted a one-year prison sentence for tax evasion on Thursday as part of a plea bargain, Spanish media reported, although he is unlikely to serve time in jail.

The 31-year-old Argentina international, who joined Barca in August 2010, pleaded guilty last year to defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of more than 1.5 million euros by concealing earnings from his image rights by using companies set up in the United States and Portugal.