Spanish prosecutors on Wednesday called for Real Madrid
coach Carlo Ancelotti to be jailed for four years and nine months for allegedly
failing to declare earnings to the tax office.
Madrid state prosecutor’s office accused the 64-year-old
Italian of having deprived Spain’s treasury of over one million euros in
earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
“Although he himself declared himself to be a tax resident
in Spain and indicated that his home was in Madrid, he only declared in his tax
returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid,” the tax office
said in a statement.
It accused Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing”
system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights.
A Spanish court in July ordered Ancelotti to stand trial
over the affair but no date has been set.
Ancelotti took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May
2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
He later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real
Madrid in 2021.
In December he extended his contract with Real Madrid to
June 2026.
Ancelotti is regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all
time.
He has won the Champions League four times — twice with AC
Milan and also on two occasions with Real Madrid.
He has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in
England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris
Saint-Germain.
Madrid face RB Leipzig on Wednesday in a Champions League
last 16 second leg clash, after Ancelotti’s side carved out a 1-0 advantage in
Germany.