Spanish courts request prison sentence for Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti for alleged tax evasion: Reports
The Spanish courts have called for Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti to be jailed for four years and nine months for alleged tax evasion, as per Yahoo. The Italian has been accused of failing to pay more than $1.1 million during his first tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2014 and 2015.
Ancelotti appeared before the High Court of Justice in Madrid on Wednesday (April 2) for the first day of the trial. Prosecutors accused the 65-year-old of not paying the aforementioned amount due to undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
In addition, they reckon the Real Madrid boss created a 'complex' system of shell companies to hide his income from his image rights and other sources. Instead, Ancelotti allegedly only reported his salary at the time, which was reportedly $10.5 million per annum.
As a result, the lead prosecutor called for Carlo Ancelotti to be jailed for four years and nine months. However, the latter reportedly vehemently denied the charges, telling the court that he set up a firm when he joined Real Madrid so he could collect 15 percent of his salary in image rights on an annual basis. He also insisted that he did not realize that this resulted in a loophole of paying less tax.
Ancelotti rejoined Real Madrid in 2021 and has found great success at the club, leading Los Blancos to a total of 15 major trophies.
"We never give up" - Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti provides verdict following win over Real Sociedad
Carlo Ancelotti recently admitted he never once doubted his side after they showed great composure to defeat Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey semi-finals. The two sides faced each other in the second leg on Tuesday, April 1.
After winning the first leg 1-0 away from home, Los Blancos hosted Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu. Despite appearing to be winning comfortably, Sociedad made it 4-3, taking the game into extra time. Fortunately for the hosts, Antonio Rudiger scored in the 115th minute to make it 4-4, resulting in Real Madrid winning 5-4 on aggregate.
Following the game, Ancelotti said (via Managing Madrid):
“I never thought we were going out. At the Bernabéu anything can happen. When we have to fight back on the scoreboard we never give up. It’s a heated atmosphere and that helps us a lot. We never give up and even less so here."
He added:
“It was entertaining, we achieved our goal of being in the final and there is not much time to think about it. We have achieved our goal.”
Los Blancos will face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on April 26.