Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused by Spanish prosecutors of evading taxes for a total amount of £13m.
The prosecutor’s office says it has filed a lawsuit against the Portuguese star for an alleged tax evasion from 2011 to 2014 following a report from the Spanish tax agency AEAT.
Ronaldo, who is the world’s highest-paid sports athlete, has previously said he is not worried about tax investigations as he has nothing to hide.
On this occasion, the four-times Champions League winner is claimed to have used a “business structure” created in 2010 to hide his income in Spain coming from his image rights.
He allegedly hid his income in two separate offshore shell companies, one in the British Virgin Islands and the other one in Ireland, which is known for its low corporate tax rate.
Prosecutors also accuse him of “voluntarily” refusing to include 28.4m euros in income linked to the sale of his image rights for the 2015 to 2020 period to a Spanish company.
When asked about the investigation, Ronaldo, who was recently reported to have become the father of two twins, told a journalist from Radio Television Portuguesa (RTP) “Quien no debe no teme”, which roughly translates as “He who has nothing to hide has no fear.”