Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted a £16.5 million fine and a suspended jail sentence to settle a tax fraud case in Spain.
The 33-year-old appeared in a Madrid court on Tuesday and is unlikely to serve any time in jail, as the 23-month term prosecutors have requested is within a two-year threshold that can be served on probation for a first offence under Spanish law.
However, former Real Madrid team-mate Xabi Alonso is also in court on a separate tax evasion charge and could face a five-year jail sentence if found guilty.
Ronaldo wore sunglasses as he was accompanied to the court by his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, but a request by his lawyers that he be allowed to enter the building in a car to avoid the media was rejected and they were told he would not compromise security.
A separate request to appear via video conference was also denied.
A probe into Ronaldo, who is believed to be worth £400m, was opened in June 2017 when he was still playing in Spain with former club Real Madrid, while he was questioned again the following month.
Prosecutors accused him of having used companies in low-tax foreign jurisdictions – notably the British Virgin Islands and Ireland – to avoid having to pay the tax due in Spain on his image rights between 2011 and 2014.
Madrid prosecution sources said: “The Provincial Prosecutors’ Office of Madrid is seeking a 23-month prison sentence for Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro for the commission of four crimes against the Public Treasury relating to Personal Income Tax for the tax years 2011 to 2014 inclusive.
“Over those four years prosecutors say the footballer deprived the Public Treasury out of 5,717,174 euros (£5.3 million).”
Ronaldo left Real Madrid last summer after nine years to join Serie A side Juventus, having won 15 pieces of silverware during his time at the Bernabeu.
On Monday, he missed a second half penalty for Juventus in a 3-0 win over Chievo.