José Mourinho's tax evasion settled in several millions

The former boss of Manchester United, José Mourinho, has accepted a prison sentence in Spain for tax evasion, but will not go to jail.

A sentence of one year imprisonment will be replaced by a fine of € 182,500 (£ 160,160). This will be added to a separate fine of 2 million euros.

Spain rarely applies sentences of less than two years to non-violent offenders or the first offense.

He was accused of having owed 3.3 million euros to the Spanish tax authorities for managing Real Madrid in 2011-2012.

Prosecutors said they have set up several commercial entities in the British Virgin Islands and elsewhere to manage its image rights.

They argued that this arrangement was intended to disguise the financial profit that he was deriving from such transactions – and he left it undeclared in his tax returns.

The agreement has been agreed in advance with the tax authorities. Tuesday's proceedings entailed the Portuguese national taking over the facts of the case during a brief hearing.

He is the last prestigious football personality to have reached an agreement with the Spanish authorities, who continue the crackdown on tax evasion or tax evasion committed by the many star players in the country.

In January, Cristiano Ronaldo accepted a fine of 18.8 million euros and a suspended jail sentence of 23 months, in a case also focused on the tax owed for the rights to the property. ;picture.

He was playing for Real Madrid at the time of the offense between 2010 and 2014 – the same team that Mr Mourinho was leading at the time of his own tax violation.

Unlike the Ronaldo case, the Spanish media have not been informed of Tuesday's hearing. So there was no crowd to meet the former manager of Manchester United, who lost his job last month.

Another former Real Madrid star, Xabi Alonso, also faces charges of alleged tax evasion of around 2 million euros, although he denies any wrongdoing.

Marcelo Vieira, who still plays for the club, last September accepted a four-month suspended prison sentence for using foreign companies to manage a profit of nearly half a million dollars. # 39; euros.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Neymar have also been involved in legal battles with the Spanish tax authorities.