MADRID — Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to pay Spain's tax authorities 14.7 million euros ($16.39 million) — the amount he has been accused of defrauding by a prosecutor — ahead of a court hearing next month, Spanish state TV said Wednesday.
Broadcaster TVE said, without identifying its sources, the 32-year-old would make this payment as a gesture of good will.
The report added Rolando will reiterate at a hearing on July 31 that he is innocent and has never hidden any income from the taxman or committed any tax fraud in Spain.
Representatives for Ronaldo declined to comment.
The Spanish prosecutor says the Real Madrid forward knowingly used a business structure to hide his image rights income in Spain between 2011 and 2014. Ronaldo has denied the charges.
Di Maria agrees deal in Spain over tax fraud
Angel Di Maria has agreed a deal with Spain's state prosecutor in which the former Real Madrid forward admits two counts of tax fraud of almost €1.3 million euros ($1.4 million) in exchange for a lighter sentence.
In a document reviewed by The Associated Press on Wednesday, Di Maria's lawyer accepted the two counts, which relate to fraud committed in 2012 and 2013. The prosecutor recommends a sentence of 16 months and a fine of nearly €800,000 ($890,000).
Di Maria, who currently plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain, will likely not serve any prison time because sentences of less than two years for first-time offenders are usually suspended.
The deal will have to be ratified by a judge when the case goes to court.
The case involves income the Argentina forward made from image rights, not from his salary paid by Real Madrid. — Agencies
