Spanish government is accused of letting Cristiano Ronaldo off with a softer punishment for his tax crimes than Lionel Messi ‘even though his offences were much more serious’
- Experts said Ronaldo had cheated taxman out of more money than his ex-rival
- Portuguese forward was fined €18.8million and handed a suspended jail term
- Barcelona forward Messi and his father were found guilty of tax fraud in 2016
The Spanish government has been slammed by experts for letting Cristiano Ronaldo off with a better sentencing deal for tax fraud than fellow offending footballer Lionel Messi.
Juventus star Ronaldo admitted tax fraud at a court in Madrid yesterday and was fined €18.8million (£16.5million) after an agreement with prosecutors.
His suspended jail sentence was converted to a further fine – unlike Messi’s – and experts at Spain’s Treasury department believe his fine could have been up to six times greater.
Members of the Syndicate of Technicians of the Treasury Department (GESTHA) said Ronaldo’s fraud was ‘much more serious’ than that of his former La Liga rival Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo, pictured arriving at court in Madrid yesterday with his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, was handed a huge fine for tax fraud
Ronaldo’s prison sentence was reduced to a fine – although he was never expected to serve it – while Messi was left with a suspended 21-month jail term on his record.
However the Portugal forward had cheated Spanish tax authorities out of three times more money than Messi, the experts claimed.
They are unhappy that the deal with the Treasury saw him avoid paying an extra €5.7million (£5million), Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported.
‘The cooperators in the Portuguese’s crimes have not not been condemned, when the father of the Argentinian was convicted,’ they argued.
They also pointed out that after reforms to the penal code in 2013, Ronaldo’s offences were ‘aggravated crimes’ whilst Messi’s were ‘fiscal offences’.
Barcelona forward Messi was found guilty in 2016, together with his father Jorge, of cheating tax authorities out of €4.1million (£3.6million).
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, pictured in action last month, was found guilty together with his father of cheating the Spanish taxman out of €4.1million (£3.6million)
Both men were fined and made a ‘corrective payment’ to return the unpaid taxes but a 21-month prison sentence for the player was upheld by the supreme court.
Neither Messi nor Ronaldo was ever expected to serve any time behind bars as sentences of less than two years are rarely enforced for first-time offenders.
Ronaldo was accused of having used shell companies outside Spain to hide income made from image rights.
The taxman initially alleged he had defrauded €14.7million euros (£12.8million) – triple what Messi was convicted of – but confirmed on Friday that the charge was just over €5.7million (£5.0million).
He made the deal to plead guilty with Spain’s state prosecutor and tax authorities last year.
Yesterday he attended court with his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez as the plea deal was confirmed.