Ronaldo Barges Two Year Jail Term For Tax Evasion

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has been handed two years jail term for evading tax in Spain but he may not spent time in prison after he struck a deal with the authority.

The new Juventus signing battled tax evasion charges while in Real Madrid and eventually agreed to a pay a hefty fine worth €19 million (£16.9m/$22.15m) with Spanish authority.

He had pleaded guilty to four charges of evasion between 2011 and 2014 worth a total of €14.7m but EFE believed that amount has been reduced in his guilty plea to €5.7m, although taking into account fines, interests and other cost the sum ascends to €19m.

When the charges initially popped up, Ronaldo and his management company Gestifute, denied it but later admitted it when he pleaded guilty.

As a first-time offender, Ronaldo’s prison sentence will not be made effective, meaning that he will not spend time behind bars.

Under Spanish law, though, if the Portugal striker re-offends during the duration of the sentence he would then be open to a custodial sentence.

Ronaldo’s sentence still must be confirmed, which will occur when the star presents himself before Madrid’s Pozuelo de Alarcon court to hear the final verdict.

The charges and prospective sentence are almost identical to those initially handed down to Ronaldo’s great rival, Barcelona wizard Lionel Messi.

Messi and father Jorge had been sentenced to 21 and 15 months in prison respectively for tax fraud, having failed to pay some €4.1m owed on image rights.

But in July, the pair saw their sentences commuted in return for the payment of additional fines.

Other footballers that have fallen foul of Spanish tax authorities in recent years include Manchester United’s Alexis Sanchez and former Argentina captain Javier Mascherano.