By Kwame Bediako
Former Real Madrid manager and current Brazil national team head coach Carlo Ancelotti has been sentenced to one year in prison by a Madrid court for tax fraud committed during his first season at the Spanish club in 2014. The court found that Ancelotti failed to declare over €386,000 in income from image rights, resulting in a fine of the same amount and a ban on receiving public subsidies or tax benefits for three years. Despite the sentence, Spanish law typically suspends jail terms under two years for first-time offenders convicted of non-violent crimes, meaning Ancelotti is unlikely to serve time behind bars.
The 66-year-old Italian, who recently took over as head coach of the Brazilian national team, was accused of using complex offshore arrangements to conceal income from Spanish tax authorities. Prosecutors had initially sought a prison term of up to four years and nine months, alleging that Ancelotti only declared his salary while omitting substantial earnings from image rights. Ancelotti has consistently denied intentional wrongdoing, stating that Real Madrid’s financial advisors managed his affairs and that such arrangements were common practice among players and coaches at the time.
Ancelotti’s conviction relates solely to the 2014 fiscal year; he was acquitted of similar charges for 2015 due to insufficient evidence. The court noted that Ancelotti fully repaid the owed taxes by late 2021, a factor that likely contributed to the relatively lenient sentence. While the legal battle casts a shadow over his managerial career, Ancelotti has yet to issue a public statement following the verdict, which comes just two games into his tenure with Brazil.
This case is part of a wider crackdown by Spanish authorities on football professionals accused of exploiting image rights and offshore companies to reduce taxable income. Other high-profile figures, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Costa, have faced similar investigations in recent years. The ruling underscores the increasing scrutiny on financial dealings within the sport and the Spanish government’s efforts to close tax loopholes.
