Real Madrid head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has appeared before a court in the Spanish capital as prosecutors try to get the Italian behind bars over his alleged involvement in tax fraud.
Ancelotti is accused of failing to pay around $1.08 million in taxes, with the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office seeking a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Real Madrid’s coach.
“I have never thought of committing fraud. I have never had a company for image rights except for these two years,” Ancelotti said to the court after stating that he would not attempt to reach an agreement with the prosecutors.
The Prosecutor’s also want 65-year-old Ancelotti to pay a fine of $3.46 million, who was charged in 2020 in relation to earned image rights in 2014 and 2015 during his first spell as Real Madrid boss.
“I negotiate in net (salary) because I am not an expert,” Ancelotti added. “I thought it was quite normal because at that time all the players and the previous coach (Jose Mourinho) had (done the same). For coaches (image rights) don’t mean the same as they do for players because they don’t sell shirts.”
Following the Real Madrid’s testimony, his stepdaughter Chloe McKay, his son Davide and his wife Marien Barrena all testified on his behalf. His defence team has also called a private expert who has argued that the Italian only spent 155 days in Madrid in 2015, less than the 183-day annual threshold for becoming a tax resident in Spain.