Real Madrid Manager Carlo Ancelotti To Stand Trial For Fraud Allegations

‎Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, will go on trial next Wednesday for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case said Friday.

‎The Madrid state prosecutor’s office has accused the 65-year-old Italian of causing Spain’s treasury to lose over one million euros (£854,000) due to undeclared income from image rights in 2014 and 2015.

‎The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.

‎Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.

‎Prosecutors allege that he only declared the personal compensation he received from Real Madrid in his tax returns for those two years.

‎This was despite him declaring himself a tax resident in Spain and indicating that his home was in Madrid.

‎They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.

‎A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair but did not set a date.

‎Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.

‎He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.

‎The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.

‎In addition to his success in the Champions League, he has claimed domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, as well as with Chelsea in England, Bayern Munich in Germany, and Paris Saint-Germain in France.