Carlo Ancelotti could face near five-year prison sentence over alleged tax fraud case

According to Spanish media, Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of Real Madrid, has been charged by Spanish prosecutors for cheating the Treasury, and they have recommended that he serve a prison sentence of more than four years.

According to the Associated Press, state authorities claim that the Italian utilised shell businesses to conceal a portion of his earnings while he was the club’s manager from 2014 to 2015.

He is charged with two charges of tax fraud, each of which, according to the prosecution, carries a potential four-year and nine-month jail sentence.

Prosecutors accuse Ancelotti of cheating €1 million in 2014, claiming that he ‘only stated money he earned from Real Madrid and did not record income from image rights’.

According to reports, Ancelotti was registered as a resident of Spain for tax purposes, but he failed to pay the necessary tax throughout that time.

Spanish publication Relevo claims that the claimed sums correspond to €386,361 in 2014 and €675,718 in 2015.

SPORTbible has reached out to Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti’s representatives for a response.

In recent years, a number of well-known personalities in the Spanish football community have been linked to instances of tax fraud.

Lionel Messi, a former Barcelona player, and his father were convicted guilty of defrauding Spain from 2007 to 2009. The court originally sentenced him to 21 months in prison, but eventually reduced it to a fine of €252,000, or €400 for every day of the term.

As part of an agreement, Cristiano Ronaldo accepted a €18.8 million fine and a 23-month prison sentence from a Madrid court for tax evasion charges.

A judge cleared former Real Madrid player Xabi Alonso of all charges after he was charged with three counts of tax fraud between 2010 and 2012.

If an offender has no earlier convictions, Spanish criminal law often suspends prison sentences up to two years in length.