Ex-Chelsea defender sentenced to jail for tax fraud

Former Chelsea and Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho has been sentenced to seven months in prison and fined €142,882 (£128,222 $167,717) for tax evasion.

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Carvalho, who now plays in the Chinese Super League, won’t serve any time behind bars under a Spanish convention for white-collar first-time offenders.

The 39-year-old, was found guilty of hiding income from image rights in 2011 and 2012 while playing for Real, where he played between 2010 and 2013, avoiding €545,981 in tax.

After returning the amount and pleading guilty to the charges, the court said in a statement that this lead to his sentence being reduced from 12 months in prison and a $300,000 fine.

Series of investigations

Carvalho is not the first to be investigated by the Spanish authorities over image rights payments.

Brazil and Real Madrid player Marcelo Vieira is facing the prospect of Spanish tax investigators trawling through his accounts for a second time. The investigation relates to earnings from his image rights in 2013.

Christiano Ronaldo is also under investigation for his tax affairs.

Lionel Messi admitted tax evasion offences earlier this year and Jose Mourinho is under investigation for allegedly avoiding tax on his earnings while in charge of Real Madrid in 2011-12.

Marcelo, Mourinho and Ronaldo all deny any wrongdoing.

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