Cristiano Ronaldo will be fined 3.2 million euros ($3.7 million) and sentenced to 24 months in prison, a sentence he is unlikely to serve, after settling a tax evasion case with Spanish tax authorities, the prosecutor said on Friday.
The 33-year-old is accused of evading 5.7 million euros in taxes. He has denied the allegations. Ronaldo is unlikely to go to prison as Spanish law states a sentence of under two years for a first offence can be served on probation.
The new reports appear to confirm a story from early June, just as the World Cup was kicking off, that said Ronaldo had “accepted” a two-year prison sentence and multi-million dollar fine but would avoid serving time as this was his first offense. The football star will be required to pay the 3.2-million-euro fine plus the 5.7 million euros in back taxes, 1 million euros in accrued interest and 250 euros-per-day for the 48 months covering the prison sentence.
This amount is likely to be only part of the striker’s fines over the case, which are expected to rise to around 19 million euros in total. The new reports appear to confirm a story from early June, just as the World Cup was kicking off, that said Ronaldo had “accepted” a two-year prison sentence and multi-million dollar fine but would avoid serving time as this was his first offense. Other footballers, including Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria, have received similar sentences for tax evasion in Spain in the past.
Ronaldo denied the accusation when the Spanish prosecutor’s office filed its lawsuit against him in June last year. Now, El Mundo’s report states that he has reached a settlement with the authorities. Ronaldo will avoid time in prison, however, as Spanish law states that short sentences are served under probation for first offenses.
Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi — the other giant of the modern game — reached a similar settlement with the Spanish authorities alongside his father in 2016. Away from this case, both Spain and Portugal have suffered off-the-field calamity in the last week. Spain coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked just 24 hours before the World Cup started, while a meltdown at Sporting Lisbon has caused an unwelcome distraction in the Portugal camp.
It’s often said that Cristiano Ronaldo is from another planet, and now stats have emerged that would corroborate such a theory. The Portuguese forward has just completed his medical at new club Juventus, with doctors left stunned by the 33-year-old’s physical condition. According to his medical results, Ronaldo has just 7 percent body fat, around 3 percent less than the average professional footballer, while his muscle mass stands at 50 percent, around 4 percent more than the average player. At the World Cup in Russia, Ronaldo hit a top speed of 21.1mph, making him the joint-fastest player at the tournament. Croatia’s Ante Rebić, nearly a decade his junior at 24, was the only player who could match him.
A teetotal fitness obsessive, Ronaldo follows a strict regimen to stay in peak condition. He is said to go swimming after every match and has a $52,000 cryotherapy treatment chamber installed at home to treat his muscles for fatigue. Legend once had it that the former Real Madrid icon does 3,000 sit-ups per day, although he later denied the rumor.