Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has defended himself against allegations of tax fraud, claiming his innocence in relation to charges of defrauding the Spanish Treasury during his first stint at Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015.
The Italian manager could face a nearly five-year prison sentence for reportedly failing to pay over £854,000 (€1 million) in taxes on his image rights while declaring himself a Spanish tax resident.
Prosecutors accuse Ancelotti of setting up a complex network to obscure his income from image rights and evade taxes, leading to charges of opacity and concealment.
Following his Champions League match with RB Leipzig, Ancelotti refuted the claims, asserting that he was not a resident of Madrid in 2015 and had already paid the fine to the tax authorities.
Ancelotti allegedly omitted income from his image rights in his tax declarations, resulting in tax bills of £33,813 (€39,575) in 2014 and £577,340 (€675,718) in 2015, according to prosecutors.
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