Portuguese superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, appeared in a Spanish court today, to testify in his €14.7m tax evasion case. The 32-year-old was accused of taking “advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities.”, a crime deemed “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain”. If found guilty, the former Manchester United forward could face a fine of “at least €28m” and a prison sentence of three-and-a-half years.
The Real Madrid forward who boycotted the press after the hearing released a statement, denying all wrongdoing. Read below:
“The Spanish Treasury knows in detail all my income, because we gave it to them, I have never concealed anything, nor did I intend to evade taxes. I always do my tax returns voluntarily, because I think we all have to declare and pay taxes according to our income. Those who know me, know what I ask my advisors: to have everything up to date and properly paid, because I do not want problems.
“It is time to let justice work, I believe in justice. In order to avoid unnecessary pressure or to contribute to a parallel trial, I have decided that I will not make any further statements on this subject until such a decision is made.”
