Sanchez avoids jail after guilty tax plea

MADRID — Manchester United striker Alexis Sanchez has struck a deal with Spanish authorities to accept a 16-month suspended jail sentence for tax fraud in return for avoiding a trial.

Sanchez, who joined United from Arsenal last month, faced being tried over the fraud of around $1.2 million linked to image rights during his time at Spanish giant Barcelona, according to details of the deal seen by AFP.

Prosecutors said the 29-year-old Chilean forward failed to declare any proceeds from the exploitation of his image rights in 2012 and 2013 and had also failed to declare he was the owner of a company set up in Malta, Numidia Trading Limited, which owned the rights.

Appearing by video link from London, Sanchez admitted he “made an incorrect tax payment” and that he had settled the issue with tax authorities.

He was sentenced to two eight-month suspended jail sentences to run consecutively, although prosecutors have called for the sentence to be lifted after two years if he does not reoffend.

Sanchez scored 47 goals in 141 appearances for Barcelona before leaving in 2014 to join Arsenal.

He is rumored to be the highest paid player in the Premier League following his move to United, reportedly earning around $710,000 a week before tax.

Sanchez is the latest in a long line of soccer stars to be pursued by Spanish tax authorities over their image rights, with Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Javier Mascherano and Cristiano Ronaldo among those investigated.

In 2016, Barcelona forward Messi was sentenced to a 21-month jail sentence that was eventually reduced to a fine of around $2.6 million.

Last month, Real Madrid’s Croatian midfielder Modric paid Spanish authorities close to $1.2 million to settle his case.

Former Barcelona and Liverpool player Mascherano accepted a one-year suspended jail sentence over a $1.8 million tax fraud.

And, in potentially the largest case, Spanish authorities are currently investigating Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo over an alleged tax dodge of around $18 million.

REUTERS Leganes defender Unai Bustinza acrobatically meets a header during Wednesday’s Copa del Rey semifinal second leg at Sevilla. Goals in either half from Joaquin Correa and Franco Vazquez earned Sevilla a 2-0 win on the night and a 3-1 victory on...