Xabi Alonso may get up to five years jail sentence if he’s found guilty of a tax fraud allegations against him. The midfielder has recently refused an out-of-court settlement for the case. Hence, he will be going to court to seek proper prosecution of the charges. Alonso, who is now 37 years old, is said to be owing as much as $3 million tax due to his refusal to document his earnings from image rights.
When being told to follow the footsteps of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, he quickly turned the idea down.
Alonso has continued to claim his innocence. Now, on 22nd of January 2019, he will go for his first court appearance on the case. He has equally insisted that he wants to settle the case based on “principle”.
Meanwhile, Spanish law enforcement officers have proposed a five-year jail sentence if Alonso gets convicted eventually while The Public Prosecutor has also demanded for 8 years.
However, there are rumors that the Spaniard will still not be imprisoned even if he doesn’t win the case.
In recent years, tax authorities in Spain have proven to be very vigilant as they have targeted players and managers like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Jose Mourinho, and a few others who have spent part of their professional lives in the country.
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