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| Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at the court in Madrid with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez (AFP Photo/PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU) |
Madrid (AFP) - Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo avoided jail on Tuesday but was ordered by a Spanish court to pay 3.57 million euros ($4.1 million) for committing tax fraud when at Real Madrid, part of a broader 18.8-million-euro payout.
Sporting
sunglasses and a smile, accompanied by his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez,
Ronaldo arrived at the court in northeastern Madrid for a brief hearing.
He was
handed a two-year jail sentence immediately reduced to a fine of 365,000 euros
and another penalty of 3.2 million euros, according to the sentence.
Accused of
having avoided paying 5.7 million euros in taxes due on his image rights
between 2011 and 2014, Ronaldo has already paid the taxman 6.7 million euros
for what he owed plus interest, the sentence read.
That --
plus the court fine -- comes to more than 10 million euros.
In June,
the player's lawyers and Spain's taxman came to an agreement that Ronaldo would
pay a grand total of 18.8 million euros.
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Ronaldo
grinned and signed autographs outside the court (AFP Photo/
OSCAR DEL POZO)
|
That amount
was not mentioned in the sentence but a source at the court, who refused to be
named, said Ronaldo would have to pay 18.8 million euros in total, giving no
further details.
Contacted
by AFP, tax authorities, prosecutors and lawyers representing Ronaldo refused
to provide any information.
It is
unclear whether the remaining amount is a separate administrative fine.
'Very
well'
"I am
very well," the five-time Ballon d'Or winner told the crowd of reporters
gathered outside of the court as he left the hearing. He signed a few autographs
before leaving in a black van.
The court
refused the player's request to appear by video or to enter the building by car
to avoid the spotlight.
Ronaldo,
who last year joined Italian champions Juventus, smiled broadly as he arrived
at the court dressed in black trousers, a black turtleneck and dark sunglasses,
holding hands with Rodriguez.
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Ronaldo's
tax troubles come from his time at Real Madrid, where he won two
league titles
and four Champions Leagues (AFP Photo/GABRIEL BOUYS)
|
Police
officers escorted him.
He had
played for Juventus on Monday night, missing a penalty as the Italian league
leaders eased past bottom club Chievo 3-0.
Offshore
companies
Madrid
prosecutors opened an investigation into Ronaldo in June 2017 and he was
questioned in July that same year.
"I
have never hidden anything, nor have I had the intention of evading
taxes," he told the court then, according to a statement from the sports
agency which represents him, Gestifute.
Prosecutors
accused Ronaldo of having used companies in low-tax foreign jurisdictions --
notably the British Virgin Islands and Ireland -- to avoid paying the tax due
in Spain on payments for his image rights between 2011 and 2014.
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Ronaldo's former
Real Madrid teammate Xabi Alonso
was also in court in Madrid on tax evasion
charges
(AFP Photo/PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU)
|
His lawyers
argued there had been a difference in interpretation of what was and was not
taxable in Spain, and deny any deliberate attempt to evade tax.
But under
the deal between Spain's tax authorities and his lawyers, Ronaldo pleaded
guilty to four counts of tax fraud.
Ronaldo is
one of several footballers to have fallen foul of Spain's tax authorities in
recent years.
Barcelona's
Lionel Messi, once Ronaldo's big La Liga rival, paid a two-million-euro fine in
2016 in his own tax wrangle and received a 21-month jail term.
The prison
sentence was later reduced to a further fine of 252,000 euros, equivalent to
400 euros per day of the original term.
Alonso
faces trial
Ronaldo's
former Real Madrid team-mate Xabi Alonso appeared at the same Madrid court on
Tuesday, for the first time, on a separate tax evasion charge.
Public
prosecutors are seeking a five-year jail sentence and a fine of four million
euros.
The trial
was suspended while the court considers whether it has jurisdiction to hear the
case.
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Ronaldo and
Rodriguez left court after the star was sentenced. (AFP Photo/
OSCAR DEL POZO)
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"I
never hid anything, I have to defend myself," Alonso, 37, told reporters
as he left the court.
Ronaldo is
also facing accusations in the United States where a former American model
accused him of raping her in Las Vegas in 2009.
Police in
the US city recently asked Italian authorities for a DNA sample from the
footballer.
Ronaldo has
always denied the accusations.
In a New
Year's Eve interview with Portuguese sports daily Record, he said he had a
"calm conscience" and was "confident that everything will very
soon be clarified".
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