JOSE £2.9M TAX FRAUD
Man United boss could face trial in Spain over claim he hid income
MANCHESTER United boss Jose Mourinho faces a £2.9million tax fraud allegation in Spain.
The charges from prosecutors in Madrid relate to 2011-12, when the 54-year-old was head coach at Real Madrid.
The Portuguese manager had previously settled another claim with Spanish tax authorities, which resulted in a penalty of £1.01million in 2014.
But it has now been alleged that some of the information presented in that settlement was incorrect.
A prosecutor in the Spanish capital said yesterday Mourinho did not declare revenues from the use of his image rights “with the aim of obtaining illicit profits”.
In a statement, the prosecutor said Mourinho had committed two counts of tax fraud in 2011 and 2012, and “corporate structures were used in order to conceal revenues generated from his image rights”.
The case has been presented to a local court, the prosecutor added, and a judge will decide whether it will go further.
Mourinho left Real in 2013 for a second spell at Chelsea before joining Manchester United last year.
A statement released last night for the Portuguese manager said: “Jose Mourinho, who lived in Spain from June 2010 until May 2013, paid more than 26million euros in taxes, with an average tax rate over 41 per cent.
“The Spanish government through the tax department, issued a certificate in which it attested he had regularised his position and was in compliance with all his tax obligations.”
Other stars in Spain have been accused of tax fraud. Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo has denied hiding nearly £13million from image rights and is threatening to leave Spain.