“I am Innocent” — Ancelotti begs over Fraud accusations

Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, has vehemently denied allegations of tax fraud dating back to his first tenure at the club between 2013 and 2015.

The Italian manager is facing charges of defrauding the Spanish Treasury, with prosecutors alleging that he failed to pay over £854,000 (€1 million) in taxes on his image rights while declaring himself as a Spanish tax resident.

According to prosecutors, Ancelotti is facing a potential prison sentence of four years and nine months. They claim that the 64-year-old established a ‘complex’ and ‘confusing’ network of trusts and companies to channel his image rights earnings outside of Spain, thereby evading tax obligations.

However, Ancelotti vehemently refuted the allegations following his team’s Champions League draw with RB Leipzig on Wednesday.

“One thing that impresses me because we are talking about a declaration from 2015,” Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia.

“They think I was a resident of Madrid, but I was not a resident here. I have already paid the fine, the money has been paid into the accounts of the tax inspectorate and the parties are talking to find a solution.”

“I am convinced that I am innocent,” Ancelotti asserted. “I did not reside in Madrid in 2015. For them, I was a resident here; we will see what the judge decides.”

Prosecutors allege that Ancelotti failed to declare income from the exploitation of his image rights in his self-assessed tax declarations for the 2014 and 2015 financial years, amounting to £1.1 million (€1.2 million) and £2.5 million (€2.9 million), respectively.

They claim that this omission led to tax bills totaling £33,813 (€39,575) in the first financial year and £577,340 (€675,718) in the second.