Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted a fine and suspended jail term for tax fraud in Spain, signing a deal to settle a case which will cost him a total of €18.8 million.
The 33-year-old Juventus forward is unlikely to serve any time in jail as the sentence was expected to be within a two-year threshold that can be served on probation as a first offence under Spanish law.
Ronaldo, holding hands with his Spanish fiancee Georgina Rodriguez, came out of the court room smiling, pausing to sign autographs before leaving in a black van.
His court appearance lasted about 15 minutes as the five-times world footballer of the year only needed to sign off on the previously settled agreement.
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Ronaldo had to enter the courtroom through the front door after his request for special security measures to avoid the spotlight was denied yesterday.
In 2017, Ronaldo denied the accusation that he knowingly used a business structure to hide income generated by his image rights in Spain between 2011 and 2014.
After reaching the deal, he paid a fine of €5.7m, plus interest of about €1m, in July 2018, the prosecutor's office said last week.
Separately, a tax fraud case against Ronaldo's former Real Madrid teammate Xabi Alonso was suspended.
Prosecutors were seeking a five-year sentence and a €4m fine.
