Ronaldo Receives Two-Year Suspended Sentence in Tax Fraud Case

The non-violent nature of Ronaldo’s offence means he won’t spend any time in jail, will serve it on probation.

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

(Photo: AP)

Cristiano Ronaldo has pleaded guilty to tax fraud and received a two-year suspended sentence.

The Juventus forward, who was facing charges stemming from his days at Real Madrid, was in court for about 45 minutes and signed an agreement which will cost him nearly 19 million euros ($21.6 million) in fines.

The deal, which was agreed in advance, included a 23-month jail sentence and in Spain convicts do not usually do time for sentences that are under two years.

Meanwhile, since Ronaldo's offence is of non-violent nature, it means he is unlikely to spend any time at all in jail. He will instead serve it on probation instead.

Ronaldo arrived at court in a black van and was wearing a black sports coat and black pants. He walked up some stairs leading to the court house and even stopped to sign an autograph.

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

In Spain, a judge can suspend sentences for two years or less for first-time offenders.

In 2017, a state prosecutor accused Ronaldo of four counts of tax fraud from 2011-14 worth 14.7 million euros ($16.7 million). Ronaldo was accused of having used shell companies outside Spain to hide income made from image rights.

(With inputs from AP)