Italian star coach Carlo Ancelotti has emphasized his innocence in the investigation into allegations of tax fraud. “I am convinced that I am innocent, that I was not a resident of Spain in 2015,” he told the Movistar + TV channel after Real Madrid reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. “This is an old story that started eight years ago with a (tax) return for 2015 in which the tax office said I was a resident of Spain,” added the 64-year-old.
The public prosecutor’s office is demanding a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Ancelotti. The Royals played 1-1 against RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening and reached the next round after a 1-0 win in the first leg.
Ancelotti: Old story now being rehashed
»I hope that this will be sorted out soon. I can sleep peacefully,” said Ancelotti at the press conference after the game and calmly added: “My concern is that the team plays better.” He assured again that it was an old story “that has now been rehashed is”.
The Italian is accused of evading more than one million euros in taxes in 2014 and 2015, the public prosecutor’s office for the Autonomous Community of Madrid confirmed on Wednesday in response to a request from the German Press Agency. She accuses Ancelotti of stating his salary in his tax return during his two years as Real coach, but concealing his income from image rights from the tax authorities. The Italian emphasized that he had already paid the fine to the tax office. Now only the lawyers would speak to seek a solution, he added.
Ancelotti first coached Real between 2013 and 2015 before being signed by FC Bayern Munich in 2016. Ancelotti’s second leg in Madrid began in the summer of 2021.