The Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office has demanded a four-year and nine-month prison sentence for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on charges of tax evasion.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the prosecutor’s office accused the 64-year-old Italian of failing to declare over a million euros in income from image rights payments in 2014 and 2015.
The announcement comes just hours before Real Madrid is set to face RB Leipzig in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, with the 14-time record champions holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg.
Ancelotti was indicted by a Madrid criminal court in the summer of 2023 after a three-year investigation. The date for the trial has not yet been set.
According to the prosecutor’s statement, “despite declaring himself to be tax resident in Spain and having his residence in Madrid, he only declared his personal income from Real Madrid” in his tax returns, not his image rights income.
The statement further alleges that this omission was deliberate and that the Italian resorted to a network of “complex” and “confusing” companies to manipulate his image rights.
The prosecutor’s office claims that Ancelotti transferred his image rights to “non-operationally active” entities based outside Spain, aiming to “obscure them from the Spanish tax authorities.”
Ancelotti’s legal battle over the tax evasion charges is likely to continue, potentially impacting his tenure at Real Madrid. The outcome of the trial could have significant consequences for the celebrated coach’s career.
