On Tuesday, January 22nd, Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges before the court and received a two-year suspended jail sentence.
According to NBC News, Ronaldo attended the 45-minute court session where he signed an agreement which will cost him about 19 million euros ($21.6 million) in fines.
The Juventus star, however, did not make any comments about his court appearance or plea.
These charges date back to when Ronaldo played for Spanish giants Real Madrid. In 2017, a state prosecutor accused him of four counts of tax fraud from 2011 to 2014 worth over $16 million.
Ronaldo initially denied having used shell companies outside of Spain to hide income made from image rights. However, in 2018, he made the deal to plead guilty with Spain’s state prosecutor and tax authorities.
As a result, Cristiano Ronaldo received a suspended two-year jail sentence and is now obligated to pay a fine that estimates for about $21.6 million. So he will not have to spend any time behind bars.
However, these are not the only charges Ronaldo is facing. In October 2018, Cristiano was accused of rape and sexual assault which he also denied. You can read about it here & here.
So far, 34-year-old Ronaldo has been keeping his silence regarding these charges, court appearance and plea. However, we can’t help but think that this will eventually affect his image in the public eye, and eventually his prominent career.
