Carlo Ancelotti convicted and imprisoned in Spain
Football coach Carlo Ancelotti, currently managing the Brazil national team and formerly at the helm of Real Madrid, has been sentenced to one year in prison and fined approximately €386,000 for tax evasion in Spain. The conviction pertains to his failure to pay taxes on image rights income during his first stint as Real Madrid manager in 2014.
The prosecution had initially sought a prison sentence of four years and nine months, along with a fine of €3.2 million. However, the final sentencing saw a significant reduction in penalties. Ancelotti was found guilty for tax evasion in 2014 but was acquitted for 2015.
The case centred on Ancelotti's failure to declare income from image rights in his tax returns for the 2014 financial year. It was noted that he only reported his salary from Real Madrid and did not disclose the additional income from image rights.
Ancelotti testified that he had never intended to defraud the state during the April trial in Madrid. He claimed he followed Real Madrid's advice on tax matters and had already settled the outstanding debt with the tax office in December 2021.
Under Spanish law, first-time offenders for non-violent crimes typically do not serve prison time if the sentence is less than two years. As a result, Ancelotti will not serve time behind bars. The verdict is not yet final and can be appealed.
As part of the ruling, Ancelotti will be unable to receive public aid, subsidies, tax benefits, or social security incentives in Spain for a period of three consecutive years. This sentence follows a pattern of high-profile football figures facing tax evasion charges in Spain, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who also received significant fines but avoided prison time.
Meanwhile, the Club World Cup is ongoing, with PSG having humiliated Real Madrid and advancing to the final. Ancelotti coached Bayern Munich, SSC Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, and Chelsea FC before joining Real Madrid and Brazil. There is ongoing discussion about the transfer of Nick Woltemade at VfB Stuttgart, but the details are not provided.
Despite the sentencing of football coach Carlo Ancelotti to one year in prison for tax evasion in Spain, he will not serve any prison time due to the lesser than two-year sentence for non-violent crimes. This conviction, related to his failure to declare income from image rights during his first stint as Real Madrid manager in 2014, follows a similar pattern of high-profile figures in football facing tax evasion charges, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Meanwhile, the European football scene continues with the Club World Cup, where PSG, a team Ancelotti previously coached at Paris Saint-Germain, is advancing to the final.
