Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti given prison sentence for tax fraud
Ancelotti, who managed Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015 and between 2021 and 2025, was cleared of a similar charge for 2015, as the court could not prove he had stayed long enough in Spain to incur tax liabilities.
He moved to London after Real Madrid sacked him in May 2015 before becoming Bayern Munich manager in 2016.
Ancelotti is likely to receive a suspended sentence as, under Spanish law, any sentence under two years for a non-violent crime rarely requires a defendant without previous convictions to serve jail time.
He was accused of deliberately misinforming the tax office to avoid paying more than €1m (£833,000) in income tax. In addition to the one-year prison sentence, he was also ordered by the Madrid court to pay a fine of €386,000 (£332,768). Prosecutors had been seeking a prison term of four years and nine months, and a fine of €3.2m (£2.76m).
When asked about his income from the transfer of his image rights to Real Madrid, Ancelotti said: 'I was only concerned with collecting six million net for three years, and I never realized anything was wrong , and I never received any communication that the Prosecutor's Office was investigating me.
'When Real Madrid proposed this to me (referring to the transfer of image rights) I contacted my English advisor and never went into the matter because everything seemed correct to me. I didn't think it could be fraud, although if I'm here, I believe things weren't so correct.'
Ancelotti continued to deny wrongdoing throughout his trial.
The 66-year-old former AC Milan, Chelsea and Everton manager is the latest of several football players and coaches to be investigated and convicted by the Spanish tax authority for alleged tax fraud.
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That need has become acute with the exit of Nicolas Khun, the long-term injury to fellow winger Jota and the lack of a direct replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi since the Japan forward left in January. The question is whether Celtic's recruitment ambitions match Rodgers' desire to continue driving the club forward and what that means moving forwards? Reluctance to spend a fair accusation as Celtic seek quality? Rodgers has repeatedly used the word "quality" when describing what his squad needs. He's also been clear that he wants more firepower and is short on natural wingers. Scotland defender Kieran Tierney's return adds undoubted talent and Sweden winger Benjamin Nygren appears to be good business on early evidence. Other new faces appear to be mainly for is clear is a significant section of the Celtic support feel a reluctance to spend significant sums is putting not only European ambitions at risk but also their domestic that fair? FThe former Celtic midfielder Scott Allan understands fan frustration but points to the return of Tierney on a free transfer as an example that is being somewhat overlooked."The fact that they were able to get Tierney on the free papers over the fact that he's a player of immense quality," he told BBC Scotland. "The only concerning thing is the fact that Brendan Rodgers actually spoke about players coming in and not necessarily getting in as starters. "I think Celtic fans are looking at players who can come in and affect the team now and that's where the concern is growing from." Long-term transfer strategy paid off, but should Celtic bow to fan demands? Celtic's long-term transfer strategy has delivered time and time again and must be the envy of many clubs. Huge profit has been brought in for the likes of Matt O'Riley, Jota and spent big last summer on midfielder Arne Engels and striker Adam Idah. With hindsight, some fans feel they may have overpaid, but that view may change over the coming months.A rough estimate of receipts this summer alone suggests a figure of around £20-25m has come in against a spend a fraction of that. A reminder of the first window of Rodgers' second spell is notable in terms of fan satisfaction. Celtic recruited widely and supporter reaction at the time seemed overwhelmingly positive. A look through that list of names might provide some caution. Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Marco Tilio, Odin Thiago Holm and Maik Nawrocki have all failed to make the grade after an outlay of close to £ and care over fees may bear more fruit than the examples above. How will Rodgers feel right now? Rodgers has repeatedly indicated that he expects his squad to be stronger come the end of August and there is likely to be movement in the coming days and weeks. The question is whether that will be enough to satisfy him and a support desperate to enjoy continued domestic success and see their team build on a successful Champions League campaign last term, with that play-off hurdle crucial."I can totally understand his Rodgers' frustration," Allan said. "He spoke after the Bayern Munich exit about evolving every year. That was probably looking ahead to this window."There were a lot of questions asked when Kyogo left. Daizen Maeda did a job as number nine, but I think there's no question Brendan Rodgers prefers him on the wing. "He's wanting to evolve the team, he's wanting to go longer in Europe and that comes down to getting quality in."In Rodgers' own words, Celtic have work to do in this window with significant challenges coming over the horizon.
