A Spanish court on Wednesday sentenced former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti to one year in prison for tax fraud committed in 2014 — though he won’t serve time due to the short length of the sentence and his clean criminal record.
Prosecutors had accused the Italian coach of using a network of shell companies to hide income, particularly from image rights, during his first stint at Real Madrid in 2014 and 2015. They claimed Ancelotti failed to declare over one million euros in earnings and initially sought a prison term of four years and nine months.
Ancelotti denied any intentional wrongdoing during his high-profile trial in April, saying he didn’t realise the structure involving image rights would result in lower tax payments.
In its ruling, the Madrid court found Ancelotti guilty of “an offence against the treasury” and imposed a one-year prison sentence along with a fine of €386,361 (approximately \$452,821). The court stated that Ancelotti had shown “a conscious desire to evade the payment of taxes” through “artificial mechanisms” that had no legitimate economic basis. It noted that he used “opaque structures and entities in tax havens” to conceal income, confirming the presence of fraudulent intent.
However, the court cleared him of similar charges for the 2015 tax year, citing insufficient evidence that he was a fiscal resident of Spain during that period.
Ancelotti, now head coach of Brazil, joins a list of football icons who have been convicted in Spain for tax offences, including Jose Mourinho, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo — all of whom received suspended sentences.
One of the most decorated managers in football, Ancelotti has won a record five Champions League titles and twice lifted the European Cup as a player with AC Milan. He left Real Madrid this summer after a rare season without silverware.
