A Spanish court has sentenced former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti to one year in prison for tax fraud committed during his first stint with the Spanish giants in 2014. However, the 66-year-old will not serve jail time due to Spain’s legal provisions for first-time, non-violent offenders with sentences under two years.
Prosecutors accused the veteran Italian coach, now managing Brazil’s national team, of using a network of shell companies to conceal income earned from image rights, evading over €1 million in taxes during the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years. They initially sought a sentence of four years and nine months.
At his high-profile trial in April, Ancelotti denied any intentional wrongdoing, stating that he was unaware the structure used to manage his image rights income would reduce his tax obligations. Despite his defense, the Madrid court found him guilty of tax evasion for the year 2014.
The court ruled Ancelotti had shown a “conscious desire to evade the payment of taxes on the income obtained from the exploitation of his image rights, through artificial mechanisms.” It described his actions as “blatantly fraudulent,” pointing to opaque structures in tax havens that lacked economic justification.
Ancelotti was ordered to pay a fine of €386,361 (approximately $452,821). He was, however, acquitted of charges relating to the 2015 tax year, with the court concluding there was insufficient evidence to prove his fiscal residence was still in Spain at that time.
The former AC Milan, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain manager now joins a growing list of football figures entangled in Spain’s crackdown on tax evasion. Notable names include Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Jose Mourinho, all of whom received suspended prison sentences for similar offenses.
Ancelotti, one of the most decorated managers in football history, departed Real Madrid at the end of the 2023–24 season following a rare trophyless campaign. He now leads Brazil’s national team, aiming to guide them through World Cup qualification.
Written By Rodney Mbua
