Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told a Spanish court on Wednesday that he “never thought about committing fraud” as he gave evidence in a trial in which he’s accused of failing to pay over €1 million ($1.08m) in taxes.
Prosecutors have accused the veteran coach of evading paying tax on his image rights income during his first spell at the club, in 2014 and 2015.
“For me, everything was in order,” Ancelotti said on Wednesday, speaking on the first day of the trial. “I never thought about committing fraud.”
Ancelotti arrived at the court in Madrid at 9:30 a.m. Spanish time, accompanied by his son and assistant Davide and his partner Mariann Barrena. He testified for around 40 minutes.
Ancelotti said that when he first joined Real Madrid as coach in July 2013, he was offered a net salary of €6m. The Italian said that the club proposed how that salary should be structured, and he then passed on that information to his tax advisor based in the UK.
“I’ve never given much importance to image rights. Coaches aren’t so important. Players are, because they sell shirts,” Ancelotti said. “I was only concerned about earning €6m net over three years. I never realised something wasn’t right, and I wasn’t informed that I was being investigated.”
Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of four years and nine months, and a fine of €3.2m.
They argue that in 2014 and 2015, Ancelotti only reported the salary he was paid by Madrid, and omitted image rights income in his Spanish tax returns.
Ancelotti is the latest in a string of high-profile players and coaches to be investigated by Spanish tax authorities.
Many cases — including those of leading players such as Portugal‘s Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain‘s Diego Costa — were settled out of court, with large fines paid.
In 2023, however, the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso after he refused to settle and defended his innocence.
In a news conference last week, Ancelotti told reporters that he had complete faith in the Spanish justice system, and was looking forward to testifying in court.
Before the hearing, prosecutors said Spain’s tax authority had seized the debt, plus interest, from Ancelotti.
The trial is scheduled to take place over three days.
Ancelotti returned to Madrid for his second stint as coach in 2021, and has since won two LaLiga and Champions League doubles.
Madrid qualified for the Copa del Rey final on Tuesday, drawing 4-4 with Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabéu in a game which finished after midnight Spanish time, to progress 5-4 on aggregate.
The parties could reach an out-of-court agreement before the hearing starts or at any point in the process.
Ancelotti, a former player who was capped 26 times for Italy and played in the 1990 World Cup, returned to Madrid for a second stint as coach in 2021.
He has won the Champions League five times as a coach, twice with AC Milan and three times with Madrid.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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