Why does this not surprise me? Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the best football player ever (and certainly the best paid), has been accused of defrauding Spain of €14.7 million in taxes between 2011 and 2014.
Ronaldo certainly knows his way around a soccer pitch, but he makes around €80 million a year for doing it with top Spanish club Real Madrid, what with all his endorsements, etc. After the Lionel Messi tax débacle, Ronaldo is on record as saying that he has nothing to hide and is not afraid of any tax investigation. But Spanish authorities are now accusing him of using a "business structure" to hide his income, and other leaked documents suggest that he also uses offshore accounts to avoid tax on his income.
Personally, I don't like the guy. He is a supercilious egotist, and a prima donna who whines when he doesn't get the ball enough (far be it from him to go and GET it). Yes, he has a physique, but does he really need to keep ripping his shirt off to show us? Like Messi, Beckham, Maradonna, and any number of other soccer prima donnas, he is not someone you would want to go for a beer with. Who was the last football superstar I would have gone for a beer with? Not sure. Do we really have to go back to Johann Cruyff? Miroslav Klose perhaps? Anyway, I digress...
My point is that Ronaldo's comeuppance does not surprise me. He will probably use of a few of his many millions to hire the best lawyers, but I do hope that, like Messi, he is well and truly hauled over the coals, if only to send a message to others.
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