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MADRID. — Football mega star Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday appeared in court near Madrid accused of evading millions of euros in taxes, the latest player to fall foul of Spain’s taxman.
The 32-year-old entered the court in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a wealthy suburb of Madrid where he lives, in a car with tainted windows via an underground garage to avoid the glare of the dozens of cameras gathered outside.
The player was expected to speak to the press after his court hearing. A podium was set up outside the courthouse behind metal barriers.
Ronaldo spent an hour-and-a-half giving evidence to judges at a court in the Madrid suburb of Pozuelo de Alarcón yesterday. The media had gathered on the court steps in front of a lectern and speakers, set up by Real Madrid in anticipation of a speech by the footballer.
He had been expected to make a statement after the pre-trial hearing, but left without saying a word. Ronaldo avoided journalists by arriving and leaving via an underground garage.
BBC Sport’s Richard Conway said Ronaldo had been expected to strike a “defiant tone”, but instead decided to go straight home, earning him a chorus of boos from the gathered press.
The Portuguese star — the world’s highest paid athlete according to Forbes magazine — follows in the steps of his arch-rival, Barcelona forward and Argentina star Lionel Messi, who was found guilty of the same offence last year.
Other footballers have also recently run into trouble with Spain’s taxman, some of them already convicted and others under investigation. Prosecutors accuse Ronaldo of having evaded 14.7 million euros ($17.3 million) in tax.
They allege he took “advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities”. They say this was a “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain”.
Prosecutors accuse the four-time world player of the year of evading tax via a shell company based in the British Virgin Islands and another in Ireland, known for low corporate tax rates.
In addition, they say the Real Madrid striker only declared 11.5 million euros of Spanish-related income from 2011 to 2014, while what he really earned during that time was close to 43 million euros. — AFP.
Online Reporter