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Cristiano Ronaldo will make an undesirable return to Madrid on Tuesday (Wednesday, NZT) and should plead guilty to tax evasion.
Ronaldo will be in the Spanish capital for tax burdens related to his move to Real Madrid.
The Juventus striker is expected to appear before a judge and receive a two-year suspended sentence under an agreement with the Attorney General and the Spanish tax authorities last year.
GETTY IMAGES
The tax troubles of the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo concern his move to Real Madrid in Spain.
The agreement will cost him nearly 19 million euros in fines.
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* Ronaldo accused of tax evasion while Spanish prosecutor complains
In Spain, a judge can suspend a sentence of two years or less for primary offenders.
In 2017, a prosecutor accused Ronaldo of four counts of tax evasion from 2011 to 2014 representing an amount of € 14.7 million (NZD 24.8 million).
Ronaldo was accused of using screen companies outside of Spain to conceal revenue derived from image rights.
After being interrogated for nearly 90 minutes in court in Madrid at the time, the Portuguese player told a judge that he had never tried to avoid taxes.
The charges did not concern his salary from Real Madrid, his club, from 2009 until he joined the Italian champion Juventus last year.
Ronaldo's presence in court Tuesday should not last long.
Officials said that he had declined the option of going to court by videoconference.
The court has already rejected Ronaldo's request to enter the building directly from the parking lot, which would have allowed the player to avoid the media.
AP
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates a goal for Juventus against AC Milan in the finals of the Italian Super Cup.
The request was made for security reasons, but the court said that he did not think the measure was necessary despite the notoriety of the player.
In addition, Ronaldo faces an allegation of rape in the United States.
Kathryn Mayorga filed a civil lawsuit in Nevada in September, claiming that Ronaldo had raped her in her hotel room in Las Vegas in 2009. The police reopened an investigation into the allegations at her request. Ronaldo has denied any wrongdoing.
The Spanish tax authorities have been investigating several other football personalities in recent years, including Lionel Messi, Jose Mourinho, Javier Mascherano, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Alexis Sanchez, Ricardo Carvalho, Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Fabio Coentrao.
GETTY IMAGES
The former star of Bayern and Spain, Xabi Alonso, left, could face a spell in prison or a hefty fine for tax evasion.
Former Real Madrid player Xabi Alonso is also expected to face a judge in Madrid on Tuesday. He is accused of defrauding the tax authorities to the tune of about 2 million euros (3.38 million New Zealand dollars) between 2010 and 2012.
He could be sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of 4 million euros, in addition to the amount allegedly defrauded. The charges are related to Alonso's image rights revenues.
AP
Lionel Messi from Barcelona is another superstar who has been investigated by the Spanish tax authorities.
The retired Spanish midfielder, who denied any foul, played for Madrid from 2009 to 2014.
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