Ronaldo to go to prison

Breaking! Cristiano Ronaldo sentenced to prison

dailyadvent.com

Jan 22, 2019 12:03 PM

The Portugal star is expected to accept a reduced two-year prison sentence and a fine of 19 million euros after striking a plea deal with the prosecution in which he admitted the four charges. Under Spanish law, he will not be required to spend any time in jail as it is a first-time offence.

Ronaldo, 33, had been accused of defrauding the authorities of €14.8m (£12.9m) in unpaid taxes between 2011 and 2014. The 33-year-old is accused of committing four crimes against the Spanish treasury between 2011 and 2014 while he was playing for Real Madrid.

In 2017, 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 Ronaldo “intentionally” did not declare income of €28.4m (£25m) related to image rights, and declared €11.5m of earnings from 2011-14 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.

Ronaldo arrived in court in Madrid on Tuesday morning, wearing sunglasses and a black blazer and accompanied by his partner, Georgina Rodríguez. His request to be allowed to enter the Provincial court through an underground carpark was denied.

The forward, who left Madrid last year to join Juventus in a 117m deal, missed a penalty in his side’s 3-0 Serie A win over Chievo on Monday.