Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly agreed to pay a €18.8m fine after pleading guilty to four separate tax offences.
According to El Mundo, Ronaldo also accepted a two-year prison sentence with the Public Prosecutors’ Office in Madrid.
The newspaper explains this is pending approval from Agencia Tributaria, Spain’s revenue service, which initially levelled the charges against the Portuguese.
The No 7 is said to be ‘confident’ that his criminal conviction will be replaced by another fine, even if it is suspended.
However, the publication warns the treasury want to keep the prison sentence in place so the 33-year-old cannot reoffend in that time.
Ronaldo is alleged to have defrauded the Spanish state to the tune of €14,768,897 between 2011 and 2014.
His new pact with the Prosecutors’ Office would have seen that sum reduced to €5.7m, but ‘interest and fines’ mean the attacker must pay almost €19m back.
Despite his fiscal problems, Ronaldo hit a hat-trick to earn Portugal a thrilling 3-3 draw with Spain in Friday’s Iberian World Cup opener.
Barcelona rival Lionel Messi was handed a suspended 21-month jail sentence and fined €1.7m for committing tax fraud between 2007 and 2009.