Brazil Head Coach Carlo Ancelotti Handed Suspended Sentence for Tax Fraud in Spain

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence by a Spanish court after being found guilty of failing to declare income from image rights during his first spell in charge of Real Madrid.

The ruling relates to tax offences committed in 2014, during Ancelotti’s time managing the Spanish giants. According to court documents, the Italian coach was found to have deliberately misinformed Spanish tax authorities, evading over €1 million (£833,000) in income tax.

The 66-year-old was also ordered to pay a fine of €386,000 (£332,768). Spanish prosecutors had initially sought a four-year, nine-month custodial sentence and a fine of €3.2 million (£2.76 million).

However, under Spanish law, prison terms of less than two years for non-violent offences do not typically require first-time offenders to serve jail time. Ancelotti, who has no prior convictions, is therefore expected to avoid imprisonment.

Cleared of Second Charge
Ancelotti, who managed Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015, and again from 2021 to 2025, was cleared of a similar charge for the 2015 tax year, as the court found insufficient evidence to prove he had resided in Spain long enough to incur liability.

Following his dismissal by Real Madrid in May 2015, Ancelotti moved to London and later became manager of Bayern Munich in 2016.

Ancelotti Maintains Innocence
Throughout the legal proceedings, Ancelotti denied any intentional wrongdoing. Speaking about the transfer of his image rights to Real Madrid, he told the court:

“I was only concerned with collecting six million net for three years, and I never realised anything was wrong. I never received any communication that the Prosecutor's Office was investigating me.

“When Real Madrid proposed this to me, I contacted my English advisor and never went into the matter because everything seemed correct to me. I didn’t think it could be fraud — although if I’m here, I believe things weren’t so correct.”

Part of a Wider Crackdown
Ancelotti now joins a growing list of football figures to have faced investigation or prosecution by Spanish tax authorities in recent years. High-profile names including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and José Mourinho have all previously been targeted in similar cases involving image rights and overseas earnings.

Despite the ruling, Ancelotti remains Brazil’s head coach and is expected to lead the national team at upcoming international tournaments.