Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, will be charged with fraud next week after allegedly failing to report income to the tax office in Spain.
The 65-year-old Italian is accused of costing Spain’s Treasury more than $1.1 million in unreported earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015 and is being sought after receiving a four-year and nine-month jail sentence.
A court spokesman said on Friday that the trial will begin on Wednesday and will likely last two days.
Ancelotti, who has won a record five Champions League titles, including three with Real Madrid, must be present, the spokesman added.
Even though he claimed to be a tax resident in Spain and claimed his place of residence was in Madrid, the prosecution accuses him of only declaring the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid in his tax returns for those two years.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly starting a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to stifle his extra income from both his image rights and those of others, including real estate.
According to the prosecution, Ancelotti made $ 3.33 million in 2014 from the sale of his image rights, and $ 3.19 million in 2015.
Ancelotti was ordered to go on trial for the affair in Spain in 2023, but there was no date set.
When asked about the case, Angelotti claimed last year that the affair was “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon.”
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being hired by Bayern Munich the following year.
The former international midfielder from Italy, who won the European Cup twice with AC Milan before making his Real Madrid debut in 2021.
Along with his success in the Champions League, he has also won domestic titles with Real Madrid and Milan, Chelsea in England, Bayern Munich in Germany, and Paris Saint-Germain in France.
In recent years, Spain has taken action against notable football players who have not made their dues.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both admitted tax evasion and received first-time offender waivers from prison sentences.
After entering a guilty plea for tax fraud in 2019, former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was given a one-year suspended sentence.
In order to settle a tax fraud case and avoid trial, Colombian superstar artist Shakira in 2023 agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and pay $ 7.86 million in fines.
Source: Aljazeera
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