Prosecutor seeks jail for Carlo Ancelotti in tax fraud case

A Spanish prosecutor is seeking a prison term of four years and nine months for Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti for alleged tax fraud.

The Italian is accused of avoiding just over €1 million in taxes on image rights revenues while he was at Real Madrid in 2014 and 2015.

The Madrid provincial prosecutor's office said in a statement on Wednesday that although the Italian was a resident in Spain for tax purposes at the time and filed his tax returns there, he had omitted the income earned through his image rights.

The prosecutor accused Ancelotti of pretending to transfer his image rights to entities lacking real activity outside Spain to avoid paying taxes.

Ancelotti, who returned as Real Madrid coach in 2021, did not reply to a request for comment.

Spanish authorities have pursued other high-profile football figures over suspected tax evasion, including players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Diego Costa. All settled and paid large fines.