Ronaldo to plead guilty to tax fraud in Madrid court

AP  |  Madrid 

will make an unwanted trip back to on Tuesday and is expected to plead guilty to tax fraud.

The Juventus forward will appear before a and receive a suspended two-year sentence as part of a deal struck with Spain's and tax authorities last year. The agreement will cost him nearly 19 million euros ($21.6 million) in fines.

In Spain, a can suspend sentences for two years or less for first-time offenders.

In 2017, a accused of four counts of tax fraud from 2011-14 worth 14.7 million euros ($16.7 million). Ronaldo was accused of having used shell companies outside to hide income made from image rights.

After being questioned for nearly 90 minutes in a court at the time, the Portuguese told a he never tried to avoid taxes.

The accusations didn't involve his salary from Real Madrid, his club from 2009 until joining Italian champion Juventus last year.

Ronaldo's presence in court on Tuesday is not expected to last long. Officials said he declined an option to address the court via video conference.

Separately, Ronaldo is facing a rape allegation in the filed a civil lawsuit in in September claiming Ronaldo raped her in his hotel room in 2009. Police reopened an investigation into the allegation at her request. Ronaldo has denied any wrongdoing.

Several other figures have been subjected to investigations from tax authorities in in recent years, including Lionel Messi, Jose Mourinho, Javier Mascherano, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Alexis Sanchez, Ricardo Carvalho, Angel Di Maria, and

Former Real Madrid is also expected to face a judge in Madrid on Tuesday. He is accused of defrauding tax authorities of about 2 million euros ($2.3 million) from 2010-12.

He could be sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 4 million euros ($4.5 million), in addition to the amount allegedly defrauded. The charges are related to Alonso's income from image rights.

The retired midfielder, who has denied any wrongdoing, played for Madrid from 2009-14.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, January 21 2019. 18:50 IST