Nothing to hide

No intention of evading taxes, Ronaldo tells court

MADRID:

Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo denied hiding millions of euros in income at a court hearing near Madrid where he was charged with tax evasion, the latest football star to fall foul of Spain’s taxman.

The Portuguese – the world’s highest paid sportsman according to Forbes magazine – follows in the steps of his arch-rival, Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, who was found guilty of the same offence last year.

“I have never hidden anything, nor have I had the intention of evading taxes,” Ronaldo, 32, told the court, according to a statement from the sports agency which represents him, Gestifute.

“I always voluntarily file my tax returns because I think we all must file a return and pay taxes according to our income. Those that know me, know what I ask my advisors: that they have everything up to date and properly paid, because I don’t want problems.”

Accused of having evaded €

14.7mil (RM74.4mil) in tax, he entered and left the court in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a wealthy suburb of Madrid where he lives, via an underground garage to avoid the press.

Prosecutors alleged he took “advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities”.

They say this was a “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain”.

Prosecutors accuse the four-time World Player of the Year of evading tax via a shell company based in the British Virgin Islands and another in Ireland, known for low corporate tax rates.

In addition, they say the Real Madrid striker only declared

€

11.5mil (RM58mil) of Spanishrelated income from 2011 to 2014, while what he really earned dur

€

ing that time was close to 43mil (RM218mil).

They also accuse him of “volun

€

tarily” refusing to include 28.4mil (RM144mil) in income linked to the sale of his image rights for the 2015 to 2020 period to a Spanish company.

Ronaldo told the court he did not create a “special structure” to manage his image rights when he moved to Real in 2009 but simply maintained the one set up in 2004 while he was at Manchester United “long before I thought of coming to Spain”.

This structure had been deemed “legal and legitimate” by the British tax office.

The affair has taken its toll on Ronaldo.

According to press reports, Real’s all- time top goalscorer, threatened to leave Spain over the affair, giving supporters a fright.

He has since decided to stay on, according to Real coach Zinedine Zidane.

If he were put on trial and found guilty, Ronaldo would risk “a fine

€

of at least 28mil (RM142mil)” and could potentially be jailed for three-and-a-half years, said the Gestha union of experts at Spain’s Inland Revenue.

Since extending his contract last November until 2021, Ronaldo is the highest paid sports star in the world with US$93mil (RM398mil) earned in 2016-2017, according to Forbes. — AFP