Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly accepted a suspended one-year prison sentence after defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of around €3.3million (£2.9m).
The Portuguese coach has remained under investigation by Spain’s Inland Revenue despite declaring the case brought against him closed in November of last year. ‘I did not answer, I did not argue.
I paid and signed with the state that I am in compliance and the case is closed,’ Mourinho told reporters as he left the court in Pozuelo de Alarcon exactly 10 months ago, though a court spokesman insisted he remained under official investigation.
Talks have continued between Mourinho’s lawyers and Spanish tax authorities since then, and newspaper El Mundo have published the final details of the agreement.
Mourinho will accept in writing that he concealed from the treasury his income from image rights corresponding to the years 2011 and 2012, when he was managing Real Madrid.
He was accused of using offshore companies in Ireland, the British Virgin Islands and New Zealand to conceal his earnings, totalling around €3.3m – of which he has been fined 60%, which equates to €1.9m (£1.78m).
However, it also carries a six-month prison sentence for each year, and Mourinho has now finally accepted a compliance agreement that prevents him from going to trial and commutes his prison sentence – meaning he will not serve any time in jail.
The prosecuting court will be informed of the deal in the coming days, while first-time offenders in Spain do not serve sentences of two years or less.
Spanish authorities have cracked down on tax evasion heavily in recent years, with United winger Alexis Sanchez accepting a 16-month prison sentence just a few months ago.
Cristiano Ronaldo – who played under Mourinho at Real – also received a suspended two-year prison sentence and was fined nearly £17m, while the likes of Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano have also been found guilty of tax evasion.
Source: Dailymail
