Carlo Ancelotti handed Spanish prison sentence and fine for tax evasion but will not go to jail

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti has been sentenced to a year in prison by a Spanish court for tax evasion – but he will not have to serve time in jail.

The former Chelsea and Everton boss was accused of failing to pay 1m euros (£830,000) in tax on his salary during his first spell in charge of Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015.

He will avoid prison but does have to pay a fine of 386,361.93 euros (£333,045.92).

Ancelotti, 66, ended a second spell with Real at the end of last season and took the Brazil job.

Under Spanish law, any sentence under two years for a non-violent crime rarely requires a defendant without previous convictions to serve jail time.

Earlier this year, Ancelotti said he “never thought about committing fraud” as he testified in court.

Ancelotti said he was offered a net salary of 6m euros (£5.1m) by Real and that he left the structure of it to his financial advisers.

“I thought it was quite normal because at that time all the players and the previous coach had [done the same],” he said.

Ancelotti paid back the debt in full in December 2021.

Lionel Messi, then with Barcelona, was initially given a 21-month prison sentence in 2017, but this punishment was then reduced to a fine of 252,000 euros, with no jail term attached. Real striker Cristiano Ronaldo accepted an 18.8m euro fine in 2019.

Jose Mourinho, another former Chelsea boss, was fined 2.2m euros relating to tax charges during his time as Real manager from 2011-12.