Spain: Carlo Ancelotti sentenced to one year in prison for tax fraud

The Spanish justice system sentenced Carlo Ancelotti, former Real Madrid coach and current manager of Brazil’s national team—to one year in prison for tax fraud committed during the 2014 fiscal year.

"We sentence Carlo Ancelotti, as author of a crime against the Public Treasury relating to the 2014 tax period" to "the penalty of one year in prison," the sentence reads.

However, the Italian coach will avoid serving time in prison, as the sentence is under two years. Instead, he has been fined €386,361.93 (just over $450,000) and will be ineligible to receive grants or subsidies from Spanish public institutions.

The court noted that Ancelotti, 66, failed to meet his tax obligations, defrauding €386,361 (approximately $450,000) in 2014 and €675,718 (around $790,000) in 2015. However, he was acquitted of the charges related to the 2015 tax year.

According to official court documents, the judges determined that the Italian coach had a “clear understanding of his tax obligations stemming from his residency in Spain during the 2014 fiscal year” and acted with a “deliberate intent to evade paying taxes.”

Ancelotti appeared before the Spanish courts in Madrid this past April, where he stated that he never intended to commit fraud. Despite his defense, the Spanish prosecutor's office initially sought a sentence of four years and nine months in prison for the Italian coach.

He is not the only figure in the soccer world to be convicted of tax fraud in Spain.

Ancelotti is not the only case

In 2016, Lionel Messi—now playing for MLS club Inter Miami—was sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud. Cristiano Ronaldo received a two-year prison sentence in 2018 for similar charges. While neither served time behind bars, both were fined: Messi paid €5 million (approximately $5.85 million), and Ronaldo was ordered to pay €18.8 million (about $22 million).

Another person investigated in the same case was Xabi Alonso, who succeeded Ancelotti at Real Madrid. He, too, was ultimately acquitted.