By Victor Kanayo
Few weeks after departing Real Madrid as head coach, Brazil national team manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has been convicted of tax fraud.
Specifically, the court sentenced him to one year in prison for failing to pay tax on income earned from his image rights in 2014, during his first tenure as Real Madrid manager.
The charges were based on the concealment of earnings while he was residing and working in Spain.
The Madrid court clarified that Ancelotti, who coached Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015, and again from 2021 to 2025, was cleared of similar tax charges for 2015, as it could not be proven that he had remained in Spain long enough that year to incur tax obligations.
The court noted that he relocated to London shortly after being sacked by Real Madrid in May 2015.
Ancelotti is unlikely to serve jail time, as Spanish law typically allows first-time offenders with sentences under two years to avoid prison if the offence is non-violent.
The veteran coach had managed Everton, Napoli and Bayern Munich.