TAX BREAK
Cristiano Ronaldo avoids jail after accepting deal for £16.6m fine in tax fraud case
CRISTIANO RONALDO has avoided jail and accepted a deal for a £16.6million fine in his tax fraud case.
The Juventus superstar said "all perfect" as he left a Madrid court alongside girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez today.
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Ronaldo struck a deal with Spanish authorities last year to settle the case by paying a fine and accepting a suspended sentence.
The Portuguese icon, 33, was all smiles in a black outfit and CR7-branded sunglasses as he arrived, signing autographs and declaring "everything's perfect".
He made a public entrance to the courtroom after a judge refused his request to appear by video or enter the building by car to avoid the spotlight.
Ronaldo, one of the world's richest athletes worth around £400m, is thought to have been given a 23-month suspended sentence.
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He will not go behind bars because, in Spain, convicts are usually not sent to jail for sentences under two years.
Ronaldo is facing a second legal battle after being accused of raping Kathryn Mayorga in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. He denies the claims and has labelled them "fake news".
In 2017, state prosecutors accused Ronaldo of four counts of tax fraud worth £13m dating from 2011 to 2014.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was accused of having used shell companies outside Spain to hide income made from image rights.
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His court appearance lasted a matter of minutes before he emerged smiling after accepting the deal offered by prosecutors.
Ronaldo's lawyers said the case was all down to a misunderstanding over what was and was not required under Spanish law.
They denied any deliberate attempt by their client to evade tax.
Ronaldo was joined in Madrid by his former Real Madrid team-mate Xabi Alonso.
The former Liverpool midfielder is accused of owing nearly £1.7m tax after failing to declare earnings from image rights "with the intention of obtaining an illicit fiscal benefit".
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