Carlo Ancelotti, the renowned Italian football manager and current Brazil national team coach, has been sentenced by a Madrid court to one year in prison for tax fraud related to undeclared income from image rights during his first season managing Real Madrid in 2014. The court also imposed a fine of €386,361 (approximately $452,821) and banned him from receiving public subsidies or tax benefits for three years.
The ruling stems from Ancelotti’s failure to declare more than €386,000 to Spanish tax authorities, part of a broader investigation into football professionals using complex offshore arrangements to evade taxes. Prosecutors alleged that Ancelotti deliberately used artificial mechanisms to avoid paying taxes on income generated from his image rights, amounting to over one million euros in undeclared earnings for 2014 and 2015 combined. However, he was acquitted of similar charges for 2015 due to insufficient evidence, as the court found he did not spend enough time in Spain that year to incur tax liabilities.
Ancelotti denied intentional wrongdoing throughout the trial, explaining that the financial arrangements were advised by Real Madrid and managed by his tax advisors. He claimed he was unaware that collecting part of his salary through image rights would reduce his tax obligations. The court noted that Ancelotti fully repaid the owed amount by late 2021, which contributed to the relatively lenient sentence.
Under Spanish law, prison sentences under two years for non-violent first-time offenders are typically suspended, meaning Ancelotti is unlikely to serve actual jail time. The case is part of a wider crackdown by Spanish authorities on tax evasion in football, targeting players, coaches, and agents who exploit image rights agreements to minimize taxable income.
Ancelotti’s illustrious coaching career includes multiple league titles across Europe’s top leagues and five UEFA Champions League trophies. Despite this conviction, he remains one of football’s most successful and respected managers.