Carlo Ancelotti, the former Real Madrid boss and current Brazil national team manager, has been handed a one-year prison sentence for tax fraud dating back to 2014, when he was at the helm of the Spanish giants.
The 66-year-old football legend was found guilty of concealing income from image rights, allegedly defrauding the Spanish tax office of more than £833,000. However, he was acquitted of separate charges relating to 2015, also tied to his image rights earnings.
Despite the sentence, Ancelotti is unlikely to serve time behind bars. Spanish law typically suspends prison terms under two years for non-violent offenders with no prior criminal record.
Ancelotti, who has managed top clubs like AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Napoli, and Everton, insists he did not break the law, arguing that he hadn’t spent the required 183 days in Spain to be considered a tax resident. He admitted to underpaying in 2014 but blamed his accountants for the oversight.
This isn’t the first high-profile tax case in Spanish football. In 2016, Lionel Messi and his father were also convicted of tax fraud, receiving a 21-month suspended sentence and paying a hefty fine instead of jail time.
Ancelotti, who returned to Real Madrid in 2021 and departed earlier this year to lead Brazil, now adds a legal controversy to his storied managerial career — but will continue on the sidelines for now, without interruption.
