Portugal and Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, arrived at a court in Madrid and decided to plead guilty to tax fraud.
The football superstar was accompanied by his lawyers and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez. Ronaldo plead guilty to committing tax fraud and signed a deal with the court which lets him pay €18.8 Million in return for a 23-month suspended prison sentence. As per Spanish law, a jail sentence for first-time offenders that is less than two years is usually always suspended.
In 2017, a state prosecutor accused Ronaldo of four counts of tax fraud from 2011-14 worth €14.7 million and using shell companies outside Spain to hide income made from image rights.
The news of Ronaldo being let off with just a hefty fine irked a lot of fans and other honest taxpayers who felt that the punishment was too lenient. Take a look at some of the twitter users who voiced their opinions about Ronaldo’s sentence:
Don’t get why all these footy players try and bail paying tax, how much money do they actually need, likes of Ronaldo makes more in a month than the majority of the population make in their lives
— Callum Newall (@CNewall_97) January 22, 2019
He stole 19m pounds and gets off with no jail time. That is NOT justice. “Ronaldo accepts €18.8m deal over tax evasion” BBC News https://t.co/hW5TbDs0q4
— Ed Franks (@edfranks) January 22, 2019
Whilst Portuguese authorities attempt to extradite a football fan from Hungary for revealing the illegal ways clubs, players+agents are rorting the game, C. Ronaldo avoids jail despite avoiding $US12M in taxes in Spain. His fine? $22 million or 1/45th of just his nike deal alone pic.twitter.com/h0LrvpQQ6u
— Eli (@ElMengem) January 22, 2019
GOAT = Greedy Orange Avoider of Tax #Ronaldo https://t.co/gRQhAsRKGe
— Christie W (@FFSChristie) January 22, 2019
I really cannot believe that some people think that Sports Personalities such as Lionel Messi, and Christian Ronaldo, are above the Law? And defend them when they illegally avoid paying Income Tax, and even a Rape Allegation! That is quite sad.
— Nick (@NickWboro) January 22, 2019
An insult to everyone that pays their taxes. @Cristiano show some respect and humility. The ultra-rich should not be allowed to laugh off being convicted of a crime while others are suffering as a result of their selfishness and ignorance. pic.twitter.com/k4oflfziCQ
— Stewart Sims (@stew_sims) January 22, 2019
Ronaldo joins Messi in becoming another major football superstar who has had their prison sentence suspended for tax fraud. Xabi Alonso, another former Real Madrid player was also was in court in Madrid to face accusations of defrauding tax authorities of about €2 million from 2010-12.
(Header Credit – Wikipedia)
