Real Madrid Coach Ancelotti Denies Tax Fraud Allegation
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti appeared in court on Wednesday to deny allegations of tax fraud during his first spell at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2013.
The Italian manager is facing allegations of failing to pay 1m euros (£830,000) in tax on his Real Madrid salary from 2013 to 2015.
He is accused of paying tax only on his salary and omitting income from image rights on his tax returns.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of four years, nine months and a fine of 3.2m euros (£2.7m).
The former Chelsea manager expressed his innocence in court on the first day of the trial on Wednesday.
He said, “For me, everything was in order. I never thought about committing fraud.
Ancelotti said he was offered a net salary of 6m euros (£5.1m) by Real Madrid, and he left the structure of it to his financial advisors.
He continued: “I was only concerned with collecting six million net for three years, and I never realised anything was wrong, and I never received any communication that the Prosecutor’s Office was investigating me.
“When Real Madrid proposed this to me—referring to the transfer of image rights—I contacted my English advisor and never went into the matter because everything seemed correct to me.
“I didn’t think it could be fraud. Although if I’m here, I believe things weren’t so correct.
“I thought it was quite normal because at that time all the players and the previous coach had done the same.
“For coaches, [image rights] don’t mean the same as they do for players because they don’t sell shirts.”
The trial is expected to last two days. The parties could reach an out-of-court agreement at any point in the process.
Several high-profile football stars have been involved in tax evasion cases in Spain in recent years.
Lionel Messi was fined 252,000 euros in 2017 after initially being given a 21-month prison sentence.
In 2019, Cristiano Ronaldo accepted an 18.8m euro fine following an out-of-court settlement and Jose Mourinho was fined 2.2m euros relating to tax charges during his time as Real manager from 2011–12.
In 2023, however, the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso after he refused to settle and to defend his innocence.
On Tuesday, Ancelotti led Real Madrid to the final of the Copa del Rey after a 4-4 draw against Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The hosts booked a final place with a 5-4 aggregate score, having won the first leg 1-0.
Real Madrid Coach Ancelotti Denies Tax Fraud Allegation is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
