Cristiano Ronaldo accepts two-year prison sentence for tax fraud | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo will soon be found guilty of four counts of tax fraud and sentenced to two years in prison.

According to Spanish outlet AS, Ronaldo will appear in court in Madrid on 14 January 2019 to finalise the agreement reached with the Spanish Treasury after he was accused of defrauding €14.7m in unpaid taxes during his nine years at Real Madrid.

However, because this is the 33-year-old’s first offence, Spanish law dictates that he will not actually be required to spend any time behind bars.

The Portuguese superstar has already paid a hefty fine (the bulk of which – €13.4m – was paid in August this year) but the law states that he must also now appear in court before the prosecutor.

Back in March, the Juventus forward’s lawyer, José Antonio Choclán, tried to get his client’s criminal charges dropped in exchange for an additional €375,000 fine, but this request was rejected.

Earlier this week, Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid team-mate Fábio Coentrão also pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges.

Coentrão has the same lawyer as Ronaldo, who was able to convince the court to let the Rio Ave defender appear at his hearing via video link rather than in person.

Choclán is reportedly hoping Ronaldo will also be allowed to hear his sentence from a distance, but this is for the judge to decide.