Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti takes stand in Spanish court on tax evasion charges

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told a Spanish court on Wednesday he had believed his tax affairs were legal.

MADRID — Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told a Spanish court on Wednesday he had believed his tax affairs were legal as he testified in a trial in which he is accused of failing to pay 1 million euros ($1.08 million) in tax on image rights revenue.

“For me, everything was in order,” Ancelotti said. “I never hought about committing fraud.”

Taking the stand on the first day of the trial, the Italian said that when joining the Spanish team he had been offered a net salary of 6 million euros and had left it up to the club and his British adviser how that was structured.

“I thought it was quite normal because at that time all the players and the previous coach had (done the same),” added Ancelotti, who testified for around 40 minutes.

He is the latest of several soccer celebrities to be investigated by the Spanish tax authority for alleged tax fraud.

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/soccer/real-madrid-carlo-ancelotti-tax-evasion-rcna199250

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