A Spanish court has sentenced Carlo Ancelotti, former Real Madrid manager and current Brazil national team coach, to one year in prison for tax evasion dating back to 2014.
However, due to the nature of the sentence, the 65-year-old will not serve any time behind bars.
Ancelotti was found guilty of concealing income earned through image rights by using a network of shell companies during his first tenure at Real Madrid in 2014 and 2015.
Prosecutors had initially sought a prison sentence of four years and nine months, arguing that Ancelotti evaded over one million euros in taxes during that period.
At his trial in April, Ancelotti denied any deliberate wrongdoing, telling the court, “I never realised a scheme allowing me to collect some of my salary in image rights would see me pay less tax.”
Nonetheless, the Madrid court ruled that he displayed “a conscious desire to evade the payment of taxes on the income obtained from the exploitation of his image rights, through artificial mechanisms.”
The court added, “The actions are blatantly fraudulent and the structures used do not conform to a real economic logic.”
Ancelotti was also ordered to pay a fine of €386,361 (approximately $452,821). He was cleared of any wrongdoing for the 2015 fiscal year, as the court could not confirm that he was a tax resident in Spain that year.
The veteran coach joins a growing list of high-profile football figures caught in Spain’s aggressive tax enforcement efforts.
Jose Mourinho, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo have all faced similar charges in recent years.
Ancelotti, who has enjoyed a decorated career with five UEFA Champions League titles as a manager and two European Cups as a player, left Real Madrid at the end of last season and took over as Brazil’s head coach.