Portuguese football icon
Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted a prearranged €18.8 million fine and a suspended
23-month jail term for tax fraud in Spain on Tuesday.
The charges relate to his time at
former club Real Madrid.
Juventus winger Ronaldo arrived
at the Madrid court hand in hand with Georgina Rodriguez and dressed in an
all-black outfit finished off neatly with white trainers and shades and gave a
thumbs up and grin to the assembled reporters outside.
A judge had earlier rejected his
request to enter the building via car to avoid paparazzi, meaning a media scrum
greeted the 33-year-old, who found time to sign a sneaky autograph on his way
up to the steps to court.
Ronaldo arrived Madrid hours
after Juventus’ 3-0 Serie A win over Chievo, where he missed a penalty.
He was highly expected to plead
guilty to defrauding the Spanish treasury and sign a deal on the sentence and
fine.
Due to the non-violent nature of
Ronaldo’s crime, and Spanish law dictating that a term of under two years
incarceration can be served on probation for first-time offenders,the 5-time
Ballon d’Or winner will not spend any time behind bars.
Ronaldo’s court appearance in the
Spanish capital lasted just 15 minutes as the player needed simply to sign off
paperwork for the previously agreed settlement in court, Reuters reported.
Earlier, Ronaldo’s former Real
Madrid team mate Xabi Alonso walked in to face own tax fraud case with his
hands deep in his suit pockets. “Yes, all good,” was his only response to
reporters’ questions.
Former Manchester United and
Sporting Lisbon winger Ronaldo has reportedly already paid a tax office penalty
in the sum of €13.5 million, after accepting charges he defrauded the court to
the tune of €14.7 million.
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