Cristiano Ronaldo avoids jail after accepting €19m fine for tax fraud

Cristiano Ronaldo was fined almost €19m (£16.7m) after pleading guilty to tax fraud but will avoid a 23-month prison sentence after agreeing a deal in a Madrid court.

The 33-year-old Juventus forward, who faced charges from his playing days at Real Madrid between 2009 and 2018, agreed to settle the case by paying a €18.8m fine and accepting a suspended jail sentence.

Ronaldo made the deal to plead guilty with Spain’s state prosecutor and tax authorities last year.

Under Spanish law, a first offender can serve anything less than a two-year sentence under probation and Ronaldo will therefore not have to go to prison.

Short case

The five-times world footballer of the year’s court appearance lasted about 15 minutes as he only needed to sign off on the previously settled agreement, according to the Reuters news agency.

Court officials said Ronaldo did not make any comments while in the courtroom.

Holding hands with his fiancee Georgina Rodriguez, Ronaldo came out of the court room smiling, pausing to sign autographs before leaving in a black van.

Earlier, Ronaldo‘s former Real Madrid team mate Xabi Alonso walked in to face his own tax fraud case with his hands deep in his suit pockets. “Yes, all good,” was his only response to reporters’ questions.