Ronaldo accepts €18.8m deal to settle tax evasion charges

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has cut a deal with a court in Madrid over tax evasion charges, accepting an €18.8m (£16.6m) fine.

Ronaldo, 33, had been accused of defrauding the authorities of €14.8m (£12.9m) in unpaid taxes between 2011 and 2014.

A huge media presence met the player outside the court after a judge refused his request to appear by video or to enter the building by car to avoid the spotlight.

In 2017, Madrid’s regional state prosecutor alleged the player had used what it deemed to be a shell company in the Virgin Islands to “create a screen in order to hide his total income from Spain’s tax office”.

It said Ronaldo “intentionally” did not declare income of €28.4m (£25m) related to image rights, and declared €11.5m of earnings from 2011-14 when his real income was almost €43m.

The prosecutor also alleged that the forward falsely reported income as coming from real estate, which it said had greatly reduced his tax rate.

But Ronaldo's lawyers said it is all down to a misunderstanding over what was and was not required under Spanish law, and deny any deliberate attempt to evade tax.

The deal, struck in June last year, had to be agreed with Spain's tax authorities.

The deal agreed in advance includes a 23-month jail sentence.

But in Spain, convicts do not usually do time for sentences under two years.

The non-violent nature of Ronaldo's offence means he is unlikely to spend any time at all in jail, serving it on probation instead.

The court appearance lasted mere minutes as Ronaldo accepted the deal offered by prosecutors.

The current Juventus player, who played for the club in Italy the night before, arrived smiling and giving a thumbs-up, apparently unfazed by the media presence.

Ronaldo also faces another ongoing legal battle: the football superstar is accused of rape in Las Vegas in 2009, a charge which he denies.