Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa appeared in court wearing a white mask in the Spanish capital today to ratify a pact he made with prosecutors to resolve a tax fraud case against him.
Prosecutors were asking for a six-month jail sentence and a fine of €507,208 to punish Costa for defrauding the Spanish state of €1,014,416 in 2014.
According to a court filing published last month, Costa, 31, did not declare payments of €5,150,622 from his 2014 transfer from Atletico to Chelsea in his tax return, as well as more than €1m in image rights.
In accordance with Spanish law which allows penal sentences below two years for non-violent crimes to be exchanged for a financial penalty, Costa has agreed to pay an additional fine of €36,500 on top of the €507,208 to avoid jail time.
"Diego Costa reached an agreement a few months ago with the prosecutor and has already paid the corresponding fine plus interest and the request for a prison sentence was withdrawn," an Atletico spokesman said yesterday.
"This week it is expected that agreement will be ratified in court, as is mandatory."
Spain international Costa, who was wearing a mask due to the Covid-19 pandemic, returned to Atletico from Chelsea in 2017 for a reported €55m after helping fire the London side to two Premier League titles.
