A Spanish court has sentenced Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti to one year in prison for failing to declare income from image rights during his time as Real Madrid manager in 2014.
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Ancelotti, who led Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015 and again from 2021 to 2025, was..Continue Reading
After being dismissed by Real Madrid in May 2015, Ancelotti relocated to London before taking over at Bayern Munich the following year.
Despite the conviction, the 66-year-old is unlikely to serve time behind bars, as Spanish law typically suspends prison terms under two years for non-violent first-time offenders.
Prosecutors accused Ancelotti of intentionally concealing over €1 million in income to avoid paying taxes, using shell companies to obscure his earnings from image rights.
In addition to the suspended sentence, the Madrid court ordered him to pay a fine of €386,000, significantly less than the €3.2 million and nearly five-year sentence originally sought by prosecutors.
When asked about his income from the transfer of his image rights to Real Madrid, Ancelotti said: “I was only concerned with collecting six million net for three years, and I never realized anything was wrong , and I never received any communication that the Prosecutor’s Office was investigating me.
“When Real Madrid proposed this to me (referring to the transfer of image rights) I contacted my English advisor and never went into the matter because everything seemed correct to me. I didn’t think it could be fraud, although if I’m here, I believe things weren’t so correct.”
Ancelotti consistently maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings, denying any intent to commit fraud.
The 66-year-old, who previously managed clubs like AC Milan, Chelsea, and Everton, now joins a growing list of high-profile football figures prosecuted by Spanish tax authorities for alleged financial misconduct.
