Cristiano Ronaldo News: Portuguese to accept a 2-year prison sentence, given court date

What's the story?

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo will be found guilty of four accounts of tax fraud and is set to accept a two-year prison sentence when he appears before a judge of a Madrid court on January 14 2019.

In case you didn't know...

The Portuguese forward was charged by prosecutors in Spain in 2017 for tax fraud during his stint at Real Madrid.

The charges came after parts of Ronaldo's income between 2011 and 2014 were found hidden in a shell company in the British Virgin Islands.

The former Real Madrid star was accused of defrauding the tax authorities of €1.4 million in 2011, €1.7 million in 2012, €3.2 million in 2013 and €8.5 million in 2014.

The heart of the matter

According to a report in AS, while Ronaldo has already paid off over 13.4 million euros as fine to the treasury, he is still bound to make an appearance before the court, as per Spanish law.

The report further claims that Ronaldo's lawyer José Antonio Choclán had attempted to remove the criminal charges against the Portuguese by replacing it with an additional fine of 375,000 euros. However, the persecutors refused the offer.

The former Manchester United forward is said to appear before the court by video-link.

Despite the two-year sentence, Ronaldo will not be serving time in person as Spanish law dictates that jail sentences of two years and below are to be suspended for first-time offenders and non-violent crimes, with the condition that the accused does not commit any further crimes in Spain during that period.

What's next?

The court appearance will bring a definite close to the matter but for now, Ronaldo is preparing for the much awaited Serie A game against Torino on Sunday.