Legendary Cameroonian striker, Samuel Eto’o has been given a 22-month suspended prison sentence for tax fraud of £3.32million.
According to Sport, the former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker admitted the offence but alleges that he was a victim of manipulation by his former agent Jose Maria Mesalles.
Eto’o failed to declare income from the transfer of his image rights between Puma and Barcelona.
Instead, he taxed the image rights through two separate companies set up in Hungary and Spain which limited his costs, according to Spanish publication Sport.
Eto’o blamed his former agent Jose Maria Mesalles, who has also been given a one-year suspended prison sentence, for the tax evasion.
In a statement in court, Eto’o referred to Mesalles as a father figure, without directly naming him.
“It was my father who took care of the child I was then,” Eto’o said.
“I’m going to pay but I’ve always done what my father told me I had to do.”
Eto’o has partially repaid the tax he owes and has been ordered to pay a further £1.5m in fines.
The prison sentences handed to Eto’o and Mesalles have both been suspended as neither of the men has previous criminal convictions in Spain.
Eto’o was one of the most gifted strikers of his generation.
He played for Barcelona between 2004 and 2009, scoring 130 goals in 199 games for the Catalan club.
The Cameroon international won the Champions League twice and La Liga three times with Barcelona before leaving for Inter Milan in 2009.
In total, he scored 371 goals in 764 club appearances over the course of his career as well as 56 goals in 118 international caps, winning African Player of the Year on four different occasions.
