It’s not the headline Cristiano Ronaldo hoped to make on Friday.
Just hours before Portugal get their World Cup campaign underway with their Group B opener against Spain, their captain reportedly accepted a two-year suspended prison sentence and a £16.5 million fine for tax evasion.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that Ronaldo has accepted the punishment in the hope of putting the case behind him after being accused of defrauding tax authorities in Spain.
The Real Madrid forward accepted four charges of fraud in exchange for a reduced penalty and given that his suspended sentence is relatively short, Spanish law dictates that it is unlikely that he will be required to serve any time in jail.
The report claims that Ronaldo tried to offer around £12.9m last summer but that figure was rejected by the Spanish government.
The new figure of £16.5 million includes fees from authorities, fines and commissions.
Ronaldo was reportedly offered a whopping new contract at Real Madrid worth £28.5 million-a-year last week after hinting at a desire to leave the Bernabeu following the club’s most recent Champions League triumph.
When he returns to his club, there will be a new manager in place as Julen Lopetegui was unveiled as Zinedine Zidane’s successor earlier this week.
