No Intention To Defraud Ancelotti Tells Tax Trial

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti denied in court having intentionally committed tax fraud on the opening day of his trial for allegedly failing to declare income to Spains tax office, the latest in a string of such cases targeting sports figures in the country.

Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of failing to pay more than one million euros 1.1 million due to undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015 during his first spell at the club.

They argue Ancelotti had only reported the salary he was paid by the club and had omitted income from his image rights in his tax returns during this period.

Prosecutors allege he set up a confusing and complex system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings during this time from his image rights and other sources such as real estate.

Ancelotti told the High Court of Justice in Madrid that this payment system had been proposed to him by Real Madrid, and that all the players do it as did another former coach, Jose Mourinho.