Carlo Ancelotti, the Real Madrid coach, is currently on trial for allegedly defrauding Spain’s tax office of over €1m in undeclared earnings from his image rights. In court, Ancelotti stated that he believed his financial matters were in order and had never thought that a fraud could have occurred. Prosecutors claim that the 65-year-old used shell companies outside of Spain in 2014 and 2015 to hide “the real beneficiary of the income from the exploitation of his image rights.” They are seeking a four-year and nine-month jail term and a €3.2m fine for Ancelotti.

Ancelotti testified that he focused on his salary and left other financial matters in the hands of his advisers, stating that coaches are not as important as players in selling merchandise. He also mentioned that he was only concerned with receiving €6m net over three years and never received any notification that he was under investigation by tax prosecutors. The manager admitted to being in contact with his British adviser about a payment scheme proposed by Real Madrid but claimed that he never thought a fraud could have occurred.

According to prosecutors, Ancelotti declared only his personal earnings from the club and failed to disclose the income from the sale of his image rights, which amounted to €1.24m in 2014 and €2.96m in 2015. This led to €1,062,079 in unpaid taxes on the sale of those rights.

Ancelotti vehemently denies the charges and expressed his confidence in the law and justice system. He stated that he is not worried but is “obviously annoyed” by the allegations.

This is not the first time a high-profile football figure has faced Spain’s tax authorities. Lionel Messi and his father were sentenced to

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/02/i-never-realised-something-wasnt-right-carlo-ancelotti-denies-1m-tax