Carlo Ancelotti sentenced to 1 year in prison for 2014 tax fraud in Spain.
Will not serve jail time due to Spanish law on first-time, non-violent offenders.
Court found he used shell companies to hide image rights income, evading over €1 million.
Acquitted for 2015 charges due to lack of sufficient evidence of Spanish residency.
Fined €386,361 (~KSh 57 million).
Ancelotti is currently the Brazil national team manager.
⚖️ Spanish Court Finds Ancelotti Guilty of 2014 Tax Evasion
A Spanish court has sentenced football manager Carlo Ancelotti to one year in prison for tax fraud committed in 2014 during his first spell at Real Madrid. However, the 66-year-old Italian will not serve time in prison due to Spain’s legal provisions that allow suspended sentences for first-time, non-violent offenders whose sentence is under two years.
Prosecutors had initially sought a four-year, nine-month jail term, but the court issued a lighter sentence and a €386,361 fine.
💰 The Fraud: Image Rights & Shell Companies
The case centered on income Ancelotti received from image rights, which the court said was diverted through shell companies to avoid taxes. He allegedly evaded over €1 million (approx. KSh 153 million) by structuring his earnings through opaque entities in tax havens without economic justification.
In its ruling, the court stated:
“There was a conscious desire to evade taxes… through artificial mechanisms that lacked real business activity.”
🧾 Acquitted on 2015 Charges
While Ancelotti was convicted for 2014, the court dismissed charges for 2015, noting that prosecutors failed to prove he was still a Spanish tax resident during that period.
🏟️ Joins Elite List of Football Tax Cases
Ancelotti now joins a growing list of high-profile football figures prosecuted in Spain for tax offenses, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Jose Mourinho—all of whom were also handed suspended jail terms.
🇧🇷 Now Coaching Brazil
Ancelotti is currently managing the Brazil national team, having taken over after leaving Real Madrid at the end of the 2023/24 season, following a rare trophyless year.
He remains one of the most respected figures in world football, with league titles in Italy, England, France, Germany, and multiple Champions League trophies to his name.
📌 The case underscores Spain's tough stance on tax compliance in football, even as managers and players navigate complex international earnings. PHOTO/COURTESY.
Carlo Ancelotti was sentenced to 1 year in prison for 2014 tax fraud in Spain.
Will not serve jail time due to Spanish law on first-time, non-violent offenders.
The court found he used shell companies to hide image rights income, evading over €1 million.
Acquitted for 2015 charges due to a lack of sufficient evidence of Spanish residency.
A Spanish court has sentenced football manager Carlo Ancelotti to one year in prison for tax fraud committed in 2014 during his first spell at Real Madrid. However, the 66-year-old Italian will not serve time in prison due to Spain’s legal provisions that allow suspended sentences for first-time, non-violent offenders whose sentence is under two years.
Prosecutors had initially sought a four-year, nine-month jail term, but the court issued a lighter sentence and a €386,361 fine.
The case centred on the income Ancelotti received from image rights, which the court said was diverted through shell companies to avoid taxes. He allegedly evaded over €1 million (approx. KSh 153 million) by structuring his earnings through opaque entities in tax havens without economic justification.
In its ruling, the court stated:
“There was a conscious desire to evade taxes… through artificial mechanisms that lacked real business activity.”
While Ancelotti was convicted in 2014, the court dismissed charges for 2015, noting that prosecutors failed to prove he was still a Spanish tax resident during that period.
Ancelotti now joins a growing list of high-profile football figures prosecuted in Spain for tax offences, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Jose Mourinho—all of whom were also handed suspended jail terms.
Ancelotti is currently managing the Brazil national team, having taken over after leaving Real Madrid at the end of the 2023/24 season, following a rare trophyless year.
He remains one of the most respected figures in world football, with league titles in Italy, England, France, Germany, and multiple Champions League trophies to his name.
