Mourinho summoned to Madrid in tax probe
JoSe MoUriNHo’S tax fraud case has disrupted Manchester United’s preparations for their premier league clash at old club Chelsea.
Mourinho will appear in court in Madrid at 10am tomorrow to answer allegations he defrauded the Spanish tax authorities of £2.9million during his time in charge of real Madrid by not declaring image-rights profits.
The case — at the court where Cristiano ronaldo faced a similar charge in July — falls just two days before United meet the champions.
Mourinho, who denies any wrongdoing, settled a previous claim in 2014 by paying a £1m penalty but prosecutors claimed in June that some information in that settlement was incorrect.
The United manager’s weekly press conference has been brought forward to this lunchtime, and the players’ training schedule could change.
Mourinho has also been invited to ‘discuss his concerns’ about the old Trafford atmosphere by the Manchester United Supporters Trust. Tension between the manager and sections of the fanbase has been clear since he held a finger to his lips and told the doubters to calm down after beating Tottenham. in his programme notes for this week’s Ben- fica match, Mourinho said he hoped fans would ‘enjoy the game more than some of you did against Tottenham’.
Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is ready to push N’Golo Kante back into action against United to solve his side’s defensive vulnerabilities. Midfielder Kante, 26, has not played since october 7 when he damaged a hamstring on duty with France. Since then Chelsea have leaked 11 goals in six games.