Carlo Ancelotti belongs to an exclusive list of managers with impeccable career records. The Italian tactician is considered one of the best in the world, and the fact that he’s won trophies everywhere he’s been, bar his ill-fated stint at Everton, means he understands the game more than most, a valuable asset for any old-fashioned or modern manager to have.
His return to Real Madrid in 2021 coincided with the club’s most recent success, as he won the UEFA Champions League that same season. Now in his third season with the Blancos as manager, Carlo Ancelotti’s career is being threatened by a particular legal challenge that could either mean nothing or everything to his legacy.
What potential punishment does Carlo Ancelotti face over tax fraud charges?
Carlo Ancelotti is being accused of tax fraud, with prosecutors calling for him to be jailed for approximately five years over an alleged tax crime that sees him owe €1 million in Spain per BBC. Remember that Carlo Ancelotti returned to Spain in 2021 after his first spell from 2013 to 2015. The legendary Italian coach is being accused of creating a confusing and complex system of shell companies to help hide his earnings.
“Although he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid, he only declared in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid,” one of the prosecutors said in an official statement. The statement went further to claim that Ancelotti “stimulated” his image rights’ transfer to several companies without activities abroad to ditch paying taxes.
Carlo Ancelotti is one of many people in the game to have been involved in alleged tax crimes in Spain, as the country has cracked down on culprits in the past few years. Lionel Messi went through a similar situation in 2017 and had his initial 21-month jail term reduced to a fine. Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho were also ordered to pay big fines for avoiding paying their taxes.
Will the legal issues hamper his Real Madrid future?
While prosecutors are pushing for Carlo Ancelotti to be handed a five-year jail term, the length of his punishment, if found guilty, remains in the hands of a judge. He will most likely not serve any time in prison. If the jail term falls under two years, Spain’s constitution permits the offender to not spend any minute in jail and instead pay some fines as punishment.
Whatever his punishment turns out to be, it will not affect his Real Madrid career, especially when he’s in the middle of leading them to a potential double-winning campaign. The Los Blancos have a huge advantage over Girona and Real Madrid in La Liga and also qualified for the next round of the UEFA Champions League yesterday after beating RB Leipzig, although the tie was controversial.
Ancelotti made a U-turn on his links to the Brazilian national team to sign a two-year contract extension with Real Madrid, which will keep him at the club till the end of the 25/26 season. Carlo Ancelotti is the most successful manager in the history of the UEFA Champions League, having won the competition four times, twice each for AC Milan and Real Madrid.
