A court in Madrid on Wednesday sentenced Carlo Ancelotti, the current coach of Brazil, to one year in prison and levied a €386,000 ($375,000) fine. The charges stem from his time as Real Madrid manager in 2014, when he failed to properly declare income from his image rights, according to a court statement.
It is expected that Ancelotti will receive a suspended sentence. Spanish law typically allows for suspended sentences for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years, particularly for first-time offenders.
Prosecutors had initially sought a prison sentence of four years and nine months, along with a fine of €3.2 million ($3.7m).
The prosecution argued that Ancelotti only declared his salary from Real Madrid in his 2014 and 2015 Spanish tax returns, failing to report income derived from his image rights.
Ancelotti joins a list of prominent soccer figures who have faced scrutiny from Spanish tax authorities.
Several cases, including those involving star players like Portugal‘s Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain‘s Diego Costa, were resolved with out-of-court settlements and significant fines.
However, in 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, who maintained his innocence and refused to settle.
