Mourinho Accused of Tax Fraud
Manchester United Manager, Jose Mourinho, has been accused of defrauding tax authorities in Spain during his time with Real Madrid.
The allegations against the Portuguese amount to a sum of £2.9 million, according to Spanish publication El Pais.
A number of high-profile football stars have been accused of tax avoidance in recent months, with Cristiano Ronaldo the most recent example.
The 32-year-old Real Madrid player has denied evading tax of £13m between 2011 and 2014, and the club subsequently issued a statement claiming it has “full confidence” in Ronaldo.
However, reports have since suggested that Ronaldo is “upset” at his treatment, and is set to leave Real. Ironically, a return to United, where he would reunite with Mourinho, has been mooted.
Mourinho spent three seasons in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2010 and 2013 before returning to England to take in a second spell with Chelsea.
He inherited the managerial reins at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016 and led United to three trophies during his debut campaign.
Lionel Messi, of Barcelona, was also accused of tax fraud to the value of £3.5m earlier this year, and was sentenced to 21 months in prison, though he is unlikely to face any jail time.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s woes deepened yesterday when the star striker who reportedly wants to quit Real Madrid was summoned to appear before a judge investigating tax fraud.
Ronaldo, 32, was summoned to appear in a Madrid court on July 31 to answer four counts of tax evasion of 14.7 million euro ($16.5m).
Unhappy Ronaldo, the fourtime world player of the year, has left his future at the Spanish giants in doubt and has been linked to United and other top clubs after angrily announcing last week that his “conscience is clear.”
According to media reports Ronaldo is unsettled at Real Madrid because he believes the European champions did not back him as fully as he had hoped in his dispute with the taxman.
And he has also complained on multiple occasions in the past about Real supporters, who have resorted at times to jeering and booing his performance on the pitch.