Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti appeared in a Spanish court on Wednesday, where he stated that he believed his tax affairs were in order. He was testifying in a trial where he faces accusations of failing to pay one million euros ($1.08 million) in taxes related to image rights revenue.
“I believed everything was in order,” Ancelotti remarked. “I never considered committing fraud.”
Taking the stand on the trial’s first day, the Italian coach explained that upon joining the Spanish club, he was offered a net salary of six million euros and left it to the club and his British advisor to determine how that would be structured.
“I thought it was quite normal because at that time, all the players and the previous coach had the same arrangement,” Ancelotti added, testifying for about 40 minutes.
He joins a growing list of football figures under investigation by the Spanish tax authority for alleged tax fraud. While some high-profile players, like Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain’s Diego Costa, have settled out of court with significant fines, others, such as Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, chose to defend their innocence in court. In 2023, the Supreme Court upheld Alonso’s acquittal.
PRISON TERMS
The prosecutor is requesting a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Ancelotti, along with a fine of 3.2 million euros (approximately $3.5 million), for two counts of tax evasion in 2014 and 2015.
The prosecution claims that Ancelotti only reported the salary he received from Real Madrid and failed to include income from his image rights in his tax filings.
Ancelotti defended himself by stating that image rights are not as significant for coaches as they are for players. “For coaches, image rights don’t carry the same weight as they do for players because we don’t sell shirts,” he explained.
Prior to the hearing, the prosecutor announced that Spain’s tax authority had already seized the debt, along with interest, from Ancelotti.
An out-of-court settlement could still be reached at any stage of the proceedings, with a verdict expected in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday, Ancelotti’s wife Mariann, son Davide, and stepdaughter Chloe also gave testimony.
Ancelotti, a former player who earned 26 caps for Italy and competed in the 1990 World Cup, returned to Real Madrid for a second term as coach in 2021. He has won the Champions League five times as a coach, twice with AC Milan and three times with Real Madrid.