Carlo Ancelotti Sentenced to One-Year Prison Term for Tax Fraud in Spain

A Madrid court has sentenced former Real Madrid manager and current Brazilian national football team head coach Carlo Ancelotti to a one-year prison term for tax fraud related to his time in Spain, as announced on July 10, 2025.

The charges stem from Ancelotti’s first season with Real Madrid in 2014, during which he reportedly failed to declare over €386,000 in earnings from image rights. Prosecutors initially sought a nearly five-year prison term, but the court delivered a significantly lighter sentence. Ancelotti was also fined €386,361 and barred from receiving public subsidies or tax benefits for three years.

Under Spanish law, sentences under two years for first-time, non-violent offenders are typically suspended, meaning the 66-year-old Italian coach is unlikely to serve jail time. The court found that Ancelotti used complex offshore financial structures to conceal income, allegedly to evade taxes.

Ancelotti, who became Brazil’s head coach in 2025, maintained that he did not intentionally commit fraud, stating that his financial affairs were managed by Real Madrid’s advisors and that such practices were common in football at the time. He was cleared of similar charges for the 2015 fiscal year due to insufficient evidence. The court noted that Ancelotti fully repaid the outstanding tax amount by late 2021, a factor that contributed to reducing the penalty from five years to one.

This conviction is part of a broader crackdown by Spanish authorities on tax evasion in professional football, particularly in La Liga.

Source: African Publicity