Cristiano Ronaldo accused of tax fraud by Spanish authorities

Spain’s prosecutor’s office in Madrid have filed a tax fraud lawsuit against Cristiano Ronaldo accusing the attacker of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities out of €14.7m. The Real Madrid man reportedly used a "business structure" created in 2010 to hide his income in Spain from his image rights.


In a statement from the prosecutor's office Ronaldo did not pay taxes worth €14.7million The lawsuit is based on a report sent to the prosecutor's office from Spain's tax agency AEAT, it said.


Ronaldo used 'the Beckham law' - which allows foreign sportsperson to pay 24.75% income tax, rather than the 48% applied to Spanish nationals to evade his taxes. Despite the law in income for imports, athletes must still, however, pay taxes on other income earned in Spain.


Recall that Barcelona superstar, and Ronaldo's long-term rival, Lionel Messi was sentenced to 22 months in prison for a €4.1m fraud, but avoided jail by paying a fine and agreeing to probation.

Ronaldo's representatives did not respond immediately to a request for comment.