Real Madrid star forward Cristiano Ronaldo had hit headlines earlier this month when he was alleged of defrauding €14.7m in taxes by Spanish authorities.
The Portuguese skipper was believed to fraud 14,768,897 euros on image rights between 2011 and 2014 during his time with Los Blancos. But the player, as well as the club, denied the allegations made on him. Now, according to Spanish newspaper Marca, the 32-year old is set to face a trial on July 31 in front of Judge Gomez Ferrer at Court Number One in Pozuelo de Alarcon.
The report suggests the four-time Ballon d’Or winner is not willing to pay any of that amount before the trial begins. There have been speculations that Ronaldo would be paying some of that amount which is proved wrong with his recent move.
The decision is informed to EFE by Ronaldo’s company, as per sources. The player is currently playing for Portugal in the Confederations Cup and will be in action until the next weekend if the European champions make it to the final four.
He has already hired lawyers Jose Maria Alonso Puig and Luis Briones of Baker&McKenzie to defend him against the charges in the coming days.
Here is the breakdown of tax fraud of €14.7 million year by year
2011: €1.39 million
2012: €1.66 million
2013: €3.2 million
2014: €8.5 million
If proven guilty, Ronaldo can be handed 1 to 5 years imprisonment as he was accused of evading more than €120,000 per year which makes it a criminal offence as per the Spanish law. The 32-year old declared an income €11.5 million for the year of 2014. But it is believed, as per the accusation, that his actual income is €43 million as he failed to 28.4 million he received for his image rights.
The tax accusation charges over footballers have become more common in Spain in recent days. Apart form Ronaldo, Barcelona stars Neymar and Leo Messi was also accused. While Messi was sentenced 21-month ban, Neymar is currently undergoing his trial which is linked with his move to Barcelona in 2013 summer.