A Spanish court on Wednesday sentenced Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti to a one-year prison term for tax fraud when he was Real Madrid manager in 2014.
The Madrid court also fined Ancelotti €386,000 ($452,187).
Spanish prosecutors accused Ancelotti of defrauding the state of 1 million euros ($1 million) in 2014 and 2015. State prosecutors sought a prison sentence of up to four years and nine months on two counts of tax fraud.
In March 2024, they accused Ancelotti of having used shell companies to hide his true earnings. Prosecutors claimed Ancelotti, for example, used one company that lacked “any real (economic) activity” in the Virgin Islands as part of an alleged scheme.
Carlos Sánchez, Ancelotti’s press officer, told The Associated Press that the coach “will not make comments for now.”
The Italian coach is the latest in a string of major soccer profiles 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.
In Spain a judge can suspend a sentence of less than two years for first-time offenders.
Brazil’s soccer confederation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Ancelotti is one of soccer’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.
In May, the Brazilian FA (CBF) had announced Ancelotti as their new manager. “The greatest national team in the history of football will now be led by the most successful coach in the world. Carlo Ancelotti, synonymous with historic achievements, was announced this Monday (12) by the president of the CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues, as the new coach of the Brazilian national team. He will lead Brazil until the 2026 World Cup and will already coach the team in the next two qualifying games against Ecuador and Paraguay, next month,” the CBF had said in a statement.
