Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho ‘fined €2m’ in tax fraud case
Written by News on 04/09/2018
Jose Mourinho has reportedly been fined €2m (£1.8m) and given a one-year suspended prison sentence after settling his Spanish tax evasion case.
The Manchester United manager was charged last year with two counts of tax fraud dating back to when he coached Real Madrid.
Prosecutors alleged that the Portuguese defrauded Spain’s tax office of €3.3m (£2.9m) in 2011 and 2012.
Madrid-based newspaper El Mundo says he has now accepted a punishment.
Reuters reports that Mourinho is unlikely to serve any jail time in future as Spanish law states that a sentence under two years for a first-time offence can be served on probation.
The 55-year-old made a brief appearance at a court in Madrid last November to answer questions in the case.
He said at the hearing that a tax bill from his time as Real Madrid boss had been paid.
Prosecutors alleged Mourinho had failed to declare revenues from his image rights in his Spanish income tax declarations “with the aim of obtaining illicit profits”.
Mourinho left Real Madrid in 2013 to manage Chelsea for a second spell before signing with United in 2016.
His representatives are yet to respond to the El Mundo report, while Manchester United and the Spanish tax agency declined to comment.
Spanish authorities have cracked down on tax evasion in recent years, with a number of high-profile football players agreeing similar deals to Mourinho.
Cristiano Ronaldo – who played under Mourinho at Real – received a suspended two-year prison sentence and was fined nearly £17m, while the likes of Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez and Javier Mascherano have been found guilty of tax evasion.
Mourinho has been under pressure in recent weeks after United lost two of their opening three Premier League games.
They responded with a 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday.
(c) Sky News 2018: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho ‘fined €2m’ in tax fraud case
