The Spanish prosecutor's office has requested a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti for alleged fraud by the Italian against the country's tax authorities.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Madrid's regional prosecutor accused Ancelotti, 64, of two counts of tax fraud between 2014 and 2015 in relation to his image rights earnings totaling more than 1 million euros (1, 09 million dollars).
ESPN contacted Ancelotti's representatives, who declined to comment.
The statement indicates that in his Income Tax declaration, the Italian coach “omitted the income corresponding to the exploitation of his image rights that he had transferred to other entities.”
“The Spanish Treasury calculated the damage suffered taking into account the rents and rents omitted and the refunds obtained at 1,062,079 euros (386,361 euros in fiscal year 2014 and 675,718 euros in fiscal year 2015),” adds the prosecutor.
Ancelotti joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 before being fired in May 2015.
The former Chelsea and AC Milan manager returned to take charge of the Spanish giants in June 2021. He recently signed a new contract with The whites until June 2026.
Numerous players and coaches have been investigated by Spanish tax authorities over the past decade, often in relation to income from image rights.
In 2016, Lionel Messi was found guilty of tax fraud and fined to avoid a 21-month prison sentence.
Cristiano Ronaldo pleaded guilty to fraud in 2019 and agreed to pay a fine of 19 million euros.
That same year, Xabi Alonso was acquitted of fraud, in a verdict that was ratified by Spain's Supreme Court in 2021, after the court determined that he had not attempted to hide income by transferring his image rights to a foreign company.
Reporting by ESPN's Alex Kirkland contributed to this report.
