Mourinho handed one-year suspended prison sentence and €2m fine in tax evasion case

The former Real Madrid boss was accused of defrauding Spain's Tax Office of €3.3m (£2.9m/$3.8m) in 2011 and 2012

Jose Mourinho has accepted a one-year suspended jail sentence after being accused of defrauding the Spanish Tax Office of €3.3million (£2.9m) of earnings while in charge at Real Madrid, according to El Mundo .

The Manchester United boss, who spent three years in the Spanish capital, was accused of using offshore company accounts in Ireland, the British Virgin Islands and New Zealand to conceal income from image rights in 2011.

Spanish news outlet  El Mundo  claims Mourinho reached a deal with tax authorities, with two six-month suspended prison sentences.

Mourinho will not be spending time in prison, however, as Spanish law states 'that a sentence of under two years for a first offence can be served on probation'.

The Office of the Prosecutor and the State Lawyers will 'communicate in the next few days' and 'that they have already closed a compliance agreement' according to the reports.

"I did not answer, I did not argue. I paid and signed with the state that I am in compliance and the case is closed," Mourinho is quoted to have said in November 2017, after a court appearance in Pozuelo de Alarcon:

Mourinho is not the first high-profile name to be accused of tax evasion by the Spanish authorities, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi also falling foul of the rules previously.

Ronaldo, who left La Liga for Serie A in the summer,  is alleged to have defrauded the Spanish Treasury of €14.7m (£13m/$16.6m) in taxes between 2011 and 2014 by concealing income earned from his image rights. 

Messi was found guilty of defrauding the Spanish Treasury to the tune of €4.1m (£3m/£4.6m) between 2007 and 2009 and had his 21-month jail sentence changed to a fine of €252,000 (£226,000/$291,000) by the Spanish courts. His father Jorge had to pay €180,000 (£161,000/$208,000).

The Argentine was also fined €2m (1.78m/$2.3m) with his father paying €1m (£900,000/$1.15m). The pair in 2013 paid a “corrective” sum of €5m (£4.5m/$5.7m) to cover the unpaid tax plus interest.

Alexis Sanchez was also caught in a tax scandal , accepting a 16-month prison sentence for committing tax fraud during his time at Barcelona. The United winger was accused of defrauding the treasury of €1m (£900,000/$1.15m) between 2012 and 2013, relating to income from his image rights.

Source : Patrick Gleeson of Goal.com