The 60-year-old, also the former head of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), was sentenced at the Brooklyn Federal Court in New York today.

Napout, convicted of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, becomes the second official implicated in the the sprawling United States Department of Justice (DoJ) investigation into widespread corruption at FIFA to be sentenced.

Former Brazilian Football Confederation head Jose Maria Marin was given four years in prison last week.

Prosecutors had sought a 20-year sentence for Napout as they claimed he was "among the most culpable" of all those indicted.

They also alleged he was "personally responsible for perpetuating and expanding the corruption of soccer at a time when it was most in need of reform".

"Napout continued to cheat the sport he was supposed to protect, took millions of dollars in bribes despite his extraordinary wealth, and encouraged and facilitated others’ participation in the crimes," they said in a court filing.

Lawyers for the Paraguayan, who did not testify in his own defence, argued there was no tangible evidence of him accepting illicit money.

Napout was found guilty of accepting millions of dollars in bribes in connection with the sale of marketing and media rights to international matches in December.

He accepted $10.5 million (£7.8 million/€8.8 million) in bribes and kickbacks between 2010 and 2016 in relation to tournaments including the Copa América and the Copa Libertadores, South America's main club competition.

Napout served as interim and then permanent CONMEBOL President from 2014 to 2015 before he resigned just over a week after he was arrested in Zurich.

He stood trial along with Marin and Peruvian Manuel Burga, who was cleared by the jury, but was acquitted on two counts of money laundering conspiracy.

The investigation in the US has seen a total of 42 officials and entities indicted by the DoJ in a scandal which shook FIFA to its core and led to the departure of former President Sepp Blatter.

Napout, Marin and Burga are the only FIFA officials to have pleaded not guilty.