Ronaldo leaves the provincial court with fiancee Georgina Rodriguez on Tuesday. GETTY IMAGES
Portugal and Juventus footballer Cristiano Ronaldo admitted to "committing tax fraud while playing for Real Madrid" and agreed to pay an €18.8M ($21.4M) fine after "striking a deal with prosecutors and tax authorities in return for a 23-month suspended prison sentence," according to Sam Jones of the London GUARDIAN. Ronaldo, 33, had been accused of defrauding the authorities of €14.8M in unpaid taxes from '11-14. In '17, Madrid’s regional state prosecutor alleged the player had used what it deemed to be a shell company in the Virgin Islands to "create a screen in order to hide his total income from Spain’s tax office." It said that Ronaldo "intentionally" did not declare income of €28.4M related to image rights, and declared €11.5M of earnings from '11-14 when his real income was almost €43M. The prosecutor also alleged that the forward falsely reported income as coming from real estate, which it said had "greatly reduced his tax rate" (GUARDIAN, 1/22). The BBC reported a "huge media presence" met the player outside the court, after a judge refused his request to appear by video or to enter the building by car to "avoid the spotlight." The deal, agreed in advance, includes a 23-month jail sentence. But in Spain, "convicts do not usually do time for sentences under two years." The non-violent nature of Ronaldo's offense means he is "unlikely to spend any time at all in jail, serving it on probation instead." The court appearance lasted "mere minutes" as Ronaldo accepted the deal offered by prosecutors. Ronaldo arrived at the provincial court with his fiancee, Georgina Rodriguez. Smiling and "giving a thumbs-up, he was apparently unfazed by the media presence" (BBC, 1/22).
'BECKHAM LAW': In London, Martyn Ziegler reported Ronaldo's fine and suspended sentence for tax fraud is the "biggest penalty so far in a series of cases brought by Spanish authorities against some of the biggest names in football." The actions against players followed the removal of a tax exemption in '10 known as the "Beckham law” after former Real Madrid player David Beckham, which had allowed overseas footballers in Spain to reduce their tax liability. The strategy of making image rights payments into offshore companies was "used by other players and managers also represented by Gestifute," the Portugal-based football agency run by Jorge Mendes (LONDON TIMES, 1/22).
'CONVICTION AND CONFIDENCE': GOAL's Joe Wright reported former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich player Xabi Alonso insisted he will "fight to the end" to clear his name after being accused of tax fraud by Spanish prosecutors. Alonso is alleged to have committed three tax offenses between '10 and '12, while he was a player in La Liga. Alonso attended court in Madrid on Tuesday, where he "learned that his case will be postponed until further notice." When asked if he could "strike a similar deal" with prosecutors to the one Ronaldo accepted, Alonso said, "No, because I have the conviction and confidence of having done everything right, collaborating from the start without hiding anything" (GOAL, 1/22).
