José Mourinho, manager of Manchester United football club has denied accusations made by authorities in Spain of tax evasion. The manager is facing claims that he defrauded Spanish tax authorities of €3.3m (£2.9m) during his time as manager of Real Madrid.
A statement was released this week from a prosecutor in Madrid, claiming he had committed two accounts of tax fraud in both 2011 and 2012. The prosecutor alleges that the Mourinho did not declare that income when he submitted his tax returns, saying in their statement that it was “with the intention of deriving unlawful benefit.”
Mourinho denies the claims and it will be left to a judge to decide whether the matter will go to court.
A spokesman for the Portuguese football manager says that he has not yet been contacted by Spanish tax authorities or the public prosecutor. They said: “José Mourinho, who lived in Spain from June 2010 until May 2013, paid more than €26m in taxes, with an average tax rate over 41%, and accepted the regularisation proposals made by the Spanish tax authorities in 2015 regarding the years of 2011 and 2012 and entered into a settlement agreement regarding 2013.”
Mourinho is not the only footballer facing these claims, on Tuesday it also emerged that the Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo is also facing allegations that he defrauded the authorities of €14.8min unpaid taxes between 2011 and 2014.
Ronaldo has denied this allegations and will testify in court on 31 July.