Dribbling Past Imprisonment: Ace Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo Avoids Jail Time, Accepts Fine In Tax Fraud Case

Ace footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was fined an estimated 19 million euros for tax fraud on Tuesday (January 22) and i process managed to avoid a prison sentence of 23 months.

The Portuguese superstar came out of the court room smiling and paused to sign autographs before leaving with his partner in a black van, reports The Financial Express.

During his time at Real Madrid in Spain, Ronaldo was facing charges of defrauding the Spanish authorities by hiding income to the tune of 14.7 million euros in shell companies outside the country. The 33-year-old Juventus player, agreed to settle the case by paying an 18.8 million euro fine and accepting a suspended jail sentence.

According to Spanish laws, a first offender can serve anything lesser than a two-year sentence under probation and which allowed Ronaldo to avoid prison.

The trial of Ronaldo’s former teammate Xabi Alonso stands suspended.

The Prosecution was seeking a five-year jail sentence and an estimated four million euros fine for the former Spanish player who retired in 2017. Alonso was accused of defrauding the Spanish state of an estimated two million euros between 2010 and 2012.

The former Real Madrid midfielder said that he was confident the he had not committed a crime and that he would have to wait till the magistrates evaluate his case.