Cristiano Ronaldo In Spanish Court, Accused Of Evading $17 Million In Taxes

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo appeared in court in Madrid Monday on tax evasion charges.

Ronaldo is accused of hiding 17 million euros in income by Spanish tax authorities.

The 32-year-old entered the court in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a suburb of Madrid, Monday morning after spending the weekend in South Florida. 

Prosecutors allege Ronaldo took "advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities".

They say this was a "voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain".

In addition, they say the Real Madrid striker only declared 11.5 million euros of Spanish-related income from 2011 to 2014, while what he really earned during that time was close to 43 million euros.

Ronaldo, the world's highest paid athlete (according to Forbes) follows in the steps of his arch-rival, Barcelona forward and Argentina star Lionel Messi, who was found guilty of the same offence last year.


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