Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti appears in court for alleged tax fraud
The leader of Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, the most successful manager in the history of the Champions League, appeared in the court of Madrid, Spain, Wednesday for his alleged involvement in tax fraud.
Ancelotti was accused in 2020 after being accused of not having paid about 1 million euros ($ 1.08 million; £ 830,000 at current rates) in taxes, with the Spanish prosecutor who was looking for a prison sentence of four years and nine months and a fine of € 3.2 million ($ 3.46 million; £ 2.7 million).
The accusations are in relation to the image rights earned by Ancelotti during his first spell as Madrid manager in 2014 and 2015. Ancelotti is currently in his second period as head of Madrid, having been appointed in 2021.
Although he declared himself a tax resident in Spain and lists his domicile like Madrid, presumably did not include income from image rights in his tax return.
He was clarified in court that Ancelotti paid the debt of 1.5 million euros to the Spanish tax authorities.
The 65-year-old appeared in the 30th criminal court of the provincial court of Madrid on Wednesday, less than 12 hours after being on the touch line for the dramatic semifinal victory of the Copa del Rey on Real Sociedad, in which Madrid progressed in the final after winning 5-4 in an aggregate way.
“I never thought of committing fraud”, Ancelotti, dressed in a black dress, testified in court after saying that he would not try to take a pact with public ministries. “I have never had a company for image rights, except for these two years.”
Ancelotti’s defense is that it was the obligation of Madrid to make the correctly with the tax authorities when it came to income from his image rights and said that “never” intended to frowe.
Ancelotti appeared in court in Madrid Wednesday (Thomas Coex/Afp via Getty Images)
Ancelotti insisted that “he had not received one euro more than negotiated” and added that it was Madrid who suggested the structure of 85 % of his image rights that went to the club, with the Italian who received the remaining 15 %.
The Italian said that he had negotiated a contract of € 6 million directly with Real Madrid (£ 5.1 million) every year for three years. “Network negotiation (salary) because I’m not an expert,” said the coach head.
“I thought it was quite normal because at that time all the players and the previous coach (Jose Mourinho) had (done the same),” he said. “For coaches (image rights) they do not mean the same players because they do not sell shirts”.
“I have never given importance to image rights,” he told the court. “I was only interested in the collection of a clear six (salary of € 6 million net per year).”
When the accusation reminded him that his 2015 tax return listed him as a resident of Madrid in 2016, when Bayern Munich was already training in Germany, he said: “It is clear that the (tax) declaration is made for me, sometimes I have not seen it.
“It is obvious that it is wrong (drawn up by the consultants) because everyone knows that I was in Munich (training Bayern in 2016).”
Ancelotti’s defense defined a private expert who claimed that Italian spent only 155 days in Madrid in 2015, less than the 183 -day annual threshold to become a tax resident in Spain.
Following the testimony of Ancelotti, his stepdaughter Chloe McKay, his son Davide and his wife Marien Barrena all testified on his behalf.
Ancelotti left the field on Wednesday saying that he thought he had gone “very well”.
Several high -profile characters in Spanish football have been accused of tax evasion including the former Barcelona star Lionel Messi, the former Madrid Great Cristiano Ronaldo and the former head of Madrid Mourinho’s coach.
Ancelotti’s coaching career has gone through three decades, with 31 trophy wins, including five Champions League titles. Next to his two spells in Madrid, he managed a multitude of clubs including Parma, Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Everton.
(Photo above: Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)
