Carlo Ancelotti, one of the most decorated managers in football history and current head coach of Brazil’s national team, has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence by a Spanish court for tax fraud related to his first stint with Real Madrid.
The case centers on earnings from image rights during the 2014 tax year, which prosecutors say were funneled through a network of shell companies designed to obscure the true nature of the income. Spanish authorities argued that Ancelotti deliberately concealed over €1 million in taxable income by using offshore entities that lacked any real economic function.
The Madrid court agreed with the prosecution on key points, stating in its ruling that Ancelotti exhibited a “conscious desire” to avoid paying taxes, calling the structures used “blatantly fraudulent.” He was also ordered to pay a fine of €386,361.
Ancelotti, who managed Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015 and again from 2021 until his departure this summer, denied any intentional wrongdoing during his trial earlier this year. He claimed he was unaware that receiving a portion of his salary through image rights agreements could result in lower tax obligations. Despite this defense, the court found enough evidence to convict him for 2014 but cleared him of wrongdoing for the 2015 tax year, citing insufficient proof that he was a tax resident in Spain that year.
The sentence will not lead to jail time, as is customary in Spain for first-time, non-violent offenses with terms under two years. Ancelotti joins a growing list of high-profile football figures, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and José Mourinho, who have been sanctioned under Spain’s rigorous scrutiny of financial conduct among elite athletes and managers.
While the conviction won’t derail his role with Brazil, it marks a rare off-pitch blemish in an otherwise illustrious career. Ancelotti is the only manager to win the Champions League five times, and his managerial résumé includes some of Europe’s biggest clubs, such as AC Milan, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain.
His current task—guiding Brazil back to international dominance—continues amid this legal episode, but it’s clear that even the game’s most respected names are not immune from financial accountability.
