Ronaldo tax fraud case: Ronaldo accepts guilt and court appearance

Rishabh Gupta | 14/12/2018
Ronaldo tax fraud case

Ronaldo tax fraud case: The Portuguese forward has accepted guilt on tax fraud and a court appearance in Spain.

Cristiano Ronaldo will accept four counts of tax fraud in the Spanish court, and a suspended prison sentence for two years.

The former Real Madrid star has been found guilty of defrauding the Spanish state of €14.7m. Of the total amount, €13.4m has already been paid by the state.

Earlier, it was reported in June that Cristiano Ronaldo had decided to accept a two-year prison sentence over a tax fraud case.

Here are the full details:

Ronaldo tax fraud case:

The Spanish law stipulates that Ronaldo needs to appear in the Spanish court to formalise the proceedings, after the court rejected a legal settlement of €375,000 to avoid the appearance.

According to reports in Spain, Ronaldo committed four years’ worth of tax fraud between 2011 and 2014, amounting to a total of €14,768,897.


The imposition of the sentence has been restricted to two years, as his is the first offence and anything under two years and one day doesn’t require a custodial sentence.

In simpler terms, Ronaldo will not serve time in jail under the settlement because the Spanish law states that a sentence of under two years for a first offence can be served on probation.

After Ronaldo makes an appearance in the Spanish court, the case is likely to be officially closed.

The Portuguese forward joined Juventus in the summer earlier this year from Real Madrid, in a deal reportedly worth €100m.

The cases of tax fraud in Spain:

Earlier, Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate Marcelo was also found guilty of tax fraud. He admitted to a four-month suspended prison sentence and will have to pay a fine of £670,000 after admitting to tax fraud.

Along with him, the Manchester United duo of Alexis Sanchez and Jose Mourinho was also accused of tax fraud last year.

During his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, Jose Mourinho was accused of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of €1.9m.

“I didn’t reply, I didn’t argue. I paid and I signed with the State that I’m in compliance and that the case is closed. For this I was just here for five minutes to tell his excellence the judge exactly what I’ve told you. Nothing else,” Mourinho said.


Manchester United’s forward Alexis Sanchez was handed a 16-month prison sentence for a similar case. He was accused of tax-fraud during his time at FC Barcelona. However, he was exempted from serving prison-time due to being a first-time offender.

Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed life in Turin so far, as he became the fastest to score 10 goals across all competitions for Juventus in the side’s history.

Post Edited By: Rishabh Gupta
Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus Real Madrid

About the author

Rishabh Gupta

A sports enthusiast. Sports, I believe, is one of the few powers which help us grow, both as an individual and society. With each day, in the rich world of sports, I grow.

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