Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti appeared in a Madrid court on Wednesday as his trial for alleged tax evasion commenced.
The renowned Italian manager spent approximately two and a half hours inside the courthouse before departing in a car, briefly telling reporters, ‘all is well’.
Spanish prosecutors have accused Ancelotti of defrauding the government of one million euros in 2014 and 2015. They are seeking a prison sentence of up to four years and nine months on two charges of tax fraud.
According to the prosecution, Ancelotti allegedly used shell companies to conceal his actual earnings. One such company, based in the Virgin Islands, was described by prosecutors as having ‘no real [economic] activity’ and being part of the suspected scheme.
Prior to the trial, Ancelotti denied any wrongdoing. When first accused last year, he maintained his innocence, arguing that he was not a fiscal resident of Spain for part of the period in question. However, prosecutors have contested this claim.
‘I already paid the fine, the money is with them, and now the lawyers are talking to try to find a solution,’ Ancelotti stated in March 2024. ‘Let’s see what the judge says.’
Ancelotti, 65, is regarded as one of the most accomplished football coaches in history. He holds a record five Champions League titles – three with Real Madrid and two with AC Milan – and is the only manager to have won domestic league championships in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
His first spell with Madrid lasted from 2013 to 2015, before he returned to the club in 2021.
Ancelotti is the latest high-profile football figure to be targeted by Spanish authorities in tax-related cases. However, no major figures have actually served any prison time.
In Spain, first-time offenders can have sentences of less than two years suspended by a judge.
Former Real Madrid coach José Mourinho accepted a one-year suspended sentence for tax fraud in 2019 after pleading guilty. Football stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, were also convicted of tax fraud in Spain. Like Ancelotti, they were accused of using offshore shell companies to conceal income from image rights.
Carlo Ancelotti llega a los juzgados para declarar acusado por defraudar a Hacienda un millón de euros
📹 VÍDEO | @alfojea pic.twitter.com/6WUqP7vULK
— Cadena SER (@La_SER) April 2, 2025
Carlo Ancelotti declara en el juicio por fraude fiscal que fue el Real Madrid quien le propuso cobrar el 15% del salario a través de una sociedad por derechos de imagen y que no le dio importancia. “Siempre negocio en neto”, ha añadido https://t.co/f8J1ksAgtn
— EL PAÍS (@el_pais) April 2, 2025
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