Di Maria fined

PARIS. — Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Angel Di Maria has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence after admitting to two counts of tax fraud during his time with Real Madrid.

The Argentina international spent four years at the Bernabeu and has reportedly been found to have defrauded the Spanish government of £1.14 million.

While Di Maria has avoided facing a trial and is unlikely to spend any time in prison due to having no prior criminal record, he will have to pay a fine of £1.76m.

This news follows other recent high-profile cases in Spain, with Cristiano Ronaldo also having accusations of tax fraud filed against him.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is also being caught up in an alleged tax fraud case dating back to his time in Madrid, while Barcelona forward Lionel Messi also had a trial on the matter last year.

Like Ronaldo and Mourinho, Di Maria is a client of well-known superagent Jorge Mendes, who has conducted some of the biggest transfers in world football in recent years.

According to El Confidencial, Di Maria avoided paying tax by transferring his image rights to an offshore company Sunpex Corporation Inc., based in Panama.

Di Maria is most well known in England for his single season at Manchester United, when he largely flopped after becoming the club’s record signing at £59.7m from Real Madrid. He moved to PSG just a year later. — AFP.