Manchester United boss José Mourinho has been accused of tax fraud by Spanish prosecutors investigating his time as Real Madrid’s head coach.
It is understood that the Portuguese manager is accused of defrauding Spain of €3.3m (£2.9m; $3.6m) in taxes between 2011 and 2012.
Although, Mourinho is yet to comment on the allegation, a prosecutor claimed he did not declare income from the use of his image rights in order to get an “illicit benefit”.
In a statement released on Tuesday, a prosecutor in Madrid said the Portuguese manager had committed two counts of tax fraud in 2011 and 2012, saying that “corporate structures were used by the accused in order to conceal revenues generated from his image rights”.
Mourinho failed to declare that income when he submitted his tax returns in the relevant years “with the intention of deriving unlawful benefit”, the prosecutor alleges.
It was gathered that a judge will decide whether the matter will go to court.
Another big name in football accused of the tax fraud is Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who played under Mr Mourinho and shares the same agent.
The player is accused of defrauding tax authorities of €14.7m, by also hiding his income from image rights.
Madrid’s regional state prosecutor has alleged the Portugal player “intentionally” did not declare income of €28.4m related to image rights, and declared €11.5m of earnings from 2011-14 when his real income was almost €43m.
The prosecutor also alleged that the player falsely reported income as coming from real estate, which it said had greatly reduced his tax rate.
Ronaldo denies the accusations and is threatening to leave Spain.
The Portuguese international is set to give evidence in his case on 31 July.