Carlo Ancelotti is accused of tax evasion
Carlo Ancelotti is accused of tax evasion
Carlo Ancelotti has denied committing tax fraud in Spain with the Real Madrid boss telling a court that he has “never been bothered” by image rights. The Italian coach is the latest big name in football to face trial in Spain because of alleged tax avoidance.
Prosecutors allege Ancelotti declared only his personal earnings from Real and did not include his earnings from the sale of image rights. It is claimed that Ancelotti failed to pay a total of €1,062,079 in tax on those rights in 2014 and 2015, during his first spell as head coach at the Bernabeu.
“I’ve never been bothered about image rights,” Ancelotti said in court. “Coaches aren’t that important – it’s the players who sell shirts.
"I was only bothered about getting the six million net for three years and I never realised that something wasn’t right and I didn’t receive any notification that I was under investigation by tax prosecutors.
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“I thought it was quite normal. I got in touch with my British adviser and I didn’t think any more about it because it all seemed right. I never thought a fraud could have been committed. But, given that I’m here, I guess things weren’t done that right.”
Ancelotti said on Friday that he had full faith in the right decision being reached following the two-day trial. “I have total confidence in the law and in justice,” he said.
“I’m not worried but I am obviously annoyed if they say that I’ve committed fraud, but, once again, I have total confidence in justice.”
Carlo Ancelotti stands trial
Carlo Ancelotti attends his trial ( Image: Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi and father Jorge were handed 21-month prison sentences for a similar charge in 2016 after being found guilty of owing more than €4m - although in Spain sentences of under two years do not have to be served.
In 2019 Cristiano Ronaldo agreed to pay an €18.8m fine along with a 23-month suspended prison sentence after admitting a charge.
Former Chelsea striker Diego Costa was also found guilty during his time at Atletico Madrid, along with Jose Mourinho, who paid €2.2m in fines and was served a suspended sentence of 12 months in 2019 relating to his time as Real head coach.
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