Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti testified in court on Wednesday morning in Madrid, as he defends his innocence in a tax fraud case to the tune of just over €1m. Despite a late night in the Copa del Rey, with Los Blancos’ win over Real Sociedad ending at nine minutes past midnight local time. Less than ten hours later, he was due in court.
Accompanied by partner Mariann Barrena McClay and son Davide Ancelotti, who was alongside him the previous night too as part of his assistant manager duties, Ancelotti ruled out a settlement with the prosecution as per MD. Ancelotti maintains that he is innocent, after being accused of falsely reporting his income during 2014 and 2015, with the total amount missing from the tax office just over €1m. The prosecution are seeking a sentence of four years and nine months in prison for Ancelotti.
The case comes down to his image rights, part of two contracts he signed as Real Madrid manager during his time there from 2013 to 2015, and whether he was a resident in Spain and his income should have been taxed in his final year there. Ancelotti ceded 50% of his economic rights to a third company, Vapia, and was not taxed on that income, although the Italian was adamant that he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing.
“I was only concerned with collecting the €6m net for three years, and I never realised anything was wrong, and I never received any communication that the Prosecutor’s Office was investigating me,” quote the Catalan daily.
“If I’m here, it is because things were not done correctly,” he remarked. “Maybe I had a tax advantage, I don’t know, I was interested in collecting the net amount.”
Ancelotti went on to insist that neither Real Madrid nor his accountants advised him that anything was amiss, and he was not aware of any money being defrauded from the tax office.
The Real Madrid manager is the latest target in a series of high-profile tax cases brought against footballers and celebrities, with the likes of Iker Casillas, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and most recently Shakira facing legal battles. Ancelotti has plenty of other things to worry about too, and recently spoke about being worn down by the exhausting schedule Real Madrid have this year.
