Cristiano Ronaldo’s prolonged tax battle with the Spanish authorities looks set to be over after the Portuguese attacker agreed a deal with the State Bar.
The Real Madrid man has reportedly acknowledged four fiscal offences before the tax agency and accepted a two-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 18.8 million Euros.
The case began last year when Spanish authorities accused Ronaldo of defrauding tax authorities of €14.8m. Ronaldo did appear in court last year and denied the charges. Spanish Newspaper ‘El Mundo’ reported that Ronaldo was hopeful that the suspended sentence would be replaced by a fine in the future.
But because the star had no previous convictions, he would not serve any time behind bars.
Ronaldo, often described by pundits as the ‘best player in the world’, originally denied the charges when they were brought against him last summer.
The news comes as the 33-year-old scored three goals in his country’s opening World Cup game with Spain in Russia having flown into Moscow last Saturday with the Spanish national team.Â
Portugal kicked off their campaign with a crunch match against longstanding Iberian rivals Spain at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi yesterday.
