Italian star coach Carlo Ancelotti has emphasized his innocence in the investigation into allegations of tax fraud.
“I am convinced that I am innocent, that I was not a resident of Spain in 2015,” he told the Movistar TV channel after Real Madrid reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. “It’s an old story that started eight years ago with a 2015 (tax) return where the tax office said I was a resident of Spain,” the 64-year-old added. The public prosecutor’s office is demanding a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Ancelotti. The Royals had played 1-1 against RB Leipzig and reached the next round after a 1-0 win in the first leg.
“I hope that this will be resolved soon. I can sleep peacefully,” said Ancelotti at the press conference after the game and calmly added: “My concern is that the team plays better.” Once again he assured that it was an old story “that has now been rehashed.”
The Italian is accused of evading more than one million euros in taxes in 2014 and 2015, the public prosecutor’s office for the Autonomous Community of Madrid confirmed on Wednesday in response to a request from the German Press Agency. She accuses Ancelotti of stating his salary in his tax return during his two years as Real coach, but concealing his income from image rights from the tax authorities. The Italian emphasized that he had already paid the fine to the tax office. Now only the lawyers would speak to seek a solution, he added.
Ancelotti first coached Real between 2013 and 2015 before being signed by FC Bayern Munich in 2016. Ancelotti’s second leg in Madrid began in the summer of 2021.
