A Spanish court on Wednesday sentenced Brazil’s coach, Carlo Ancelotti, to one year in prison for tax fraud dating back to his tenure as Real Madrid manager in 2014.
The Madrid court also imposed a fine of 386,000 euros ($452,187) on Ancelotti.
Spanish prosecutors accused him of evading 1 million euros ($1 million) in taxes during 2014 and 2015 and had sought a prison term of up to four years and nine months on two counts of tax fraud.
In March 2024, prosecutors alleged Ancelotti used shell companies – including one based in the Virgin Islands with no real economic activity – to conceal his true earnings.
In Spain, a judge can suspend a sentence of less than two years for first-time offenders.
A staffer on Ancelotti’s team said that his lawyers welcomed the court’s decision, which also ruled that Ancelotti was not formally a Spanish resident in 2015.
The staffer spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Brazil’s football confederation has not publicly commented on the court’s ruling.
The Italian coach is the latest in a string of major football figures to face a crackdown by Spanish authorities over unpaid taxes, although none have actually been sent to prison so far.
That list includes star players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Jose Mourinho, another former Madrid coach.
Ancelotti, who turned 66 last month, is one of football’s most successful coaches. He is the only coach to have won the Champions League five times – three with Madrid and twice with AC Milan – and the only coach to have won domestic league titles in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
Ancelotti left his second stint at Real Madrid to take over Brazil’s national team.
