Cristiano Ronaldo Avoids Two Years Of Jail By Paying €19 Million Fine

BBC- Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has cut a deal with a court in Madrid over tax evasion charges, accepting an €18.8m (£16.6m) fine.

The deal, agreed in advance, includes a 23-month jail sentence.

But in Spain, convicts do not usually do time for sentences under two years.

Forbes lists the 33-year-old as the third-wealthiest athlete in the world, with estimated earnings of $108m (€95m) a year.

The case centres around lucrative image rights deals. Prosecutors say the proceeds were funnelled through low-tax companies in foreign nations to avoid paying the required tax.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi avoided a jail sentence for a similar schemeinvolving image rights, paying several million in a “corrective payment” in back taxes and fines.

——————————-

Is tax fraud a required stepping-stone on the road to being a top five soccer player in the world? What the hell is going on over there? Between Messi, Neymar, and Ronaldo, it sorta seems like these guys are all using the same accountant, and he’s not doing a great job of covering his tracks. Hey guys? Ever heard of the Cayman Islands? I don’t have a goddamn clue how it works but everyone knows that’s where you put your money when you don’t want the government to take it.”Offshore accounts,” they’re called, because the Cayman Islands are off the shore of the continent. I went there once. Terrific Hard Rock Cafe. Make sure you buy a t-shirt.

I can only imagine that when you’re paid $100 million a year, it sucks to fork over a check for tens of millions to the government. But on the other side, you’ve got… tens of millions left. That’s how taxes work, Cristiano! If you don’t want to pay them, go play for Monaco like every other financially-driven player. It’s a tax haven and you can live on a goddamn yacht.

Whenever these tax stories break, they always say that the player is facing jail time. Haha yeah right. That’s not how money of this magnitude works. If you can afford to pay $21 million, you’re not going to jail. I learned that from monopoly.

PS- never seen someone look so good or happy paying a fine that large. What an outfit.