Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo pleaded guilty to tax fraud on Tuesday in a Madrid court over charges dating to his time playing for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo was accused of using shell companies located outside Spain to hide income made from image rights nearly three years ago, the Associated Press reported. He signed a plea agreement and will be fined $21.6 million. Ronaldo was also given a suspended 23-month jai term. In Spain, imprisonment is generally waived if a term is under two years, according to the BBC.
The soccer star agreed last year to the plea deal. He was accused of four counts of tax fraud worth $16.7 million between 2011-2014. When the allegations emerged, prosecutors called it a “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain,” the BBC reported.
Ronaldo also faces another legal battle in the U.S. The soccer star has been accused of raping former model Kathryn Mayorga in 2009, who alleges Ronaldo paid her $375,000 in an out-of-court settlement. On Twitter, he denied the accusations.
Last year, Ronaldo made an estimated $108 million. He has an estimated net worth of $450 million, according to CNBC.
