Cristiano Ronaldo Facing Jail Time if Found Guilty of 3 Cases of Criminal Tax Fraud

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to pay the €14m (£12m) he allegedly avoided in tax as a mitigating factor to possible prosecution in the Spanish court, ​Cope have reported.
The money will be paid in an attempt to lay the groundwork for a possible agreement, and to avoid going to a trial.

But Cope report that if the judge is of the view that Ronaldo has committed a criminal offence, the case would go to trial in the Provincial Court and could lead to a prison sentence.
In that outcome, any prosecution would come down to Ronaldo's statement and the strategy of his lawyers.

The prosecutor's office in Madrid last week revealed it had filed a lawsuit against the Portuguese player, although much of the attention has been taken away by Ronaldo's reported decision to leave Real Madrid.
"It is clear that the football player did not try to evade taxes," Ronaldo's Gestifute management company said.

Ronaldo is accused of knowingly using a "business structure" to hide income made from his image rights. He is also accused of avoiding tax on income allegedly held in offshore accounts.
The 32-year-old has denied all allegations and previously told a Portuguese journalist that  "he who owes nothing has nothing to fear."
Ronaldo is the world's highest-paid sportsperson, earning a reported £72m from salary, bonuses and endorsements last year