An advisor over tax affairs argued that Ronaldo's case should have been heard in the tax courts and criticised Spain's treatment of the player.

The scale of tax compliance woes afflicting global soccer have been highlighted again with news that Juventus and Portugal star, Christiano Ronaldo, has agreed to pay an €18.8 million ($21.3 million) fine and accept a suspended jail term to settle a tax fraud case relating to his career in Spain. He had played for Real Madrid at the time. The agreement follows reports late last year that such a result was likely.

Spanish prosecutors meted out a 23-month suspended sentence to the star – one of the most famous and gifted players of his generation. The charges relate to unpaid tax between 2011 and 2014. It has been claimed that Ronaldo had used an offshore company to conceal his total income from the Spanish authorities, as well as falsely reporting income from real estate sales that lowered his tax rate.

Ronaldo joins a list of soccer players and associated figures who have been hunted for tax offences by European authorities in recent years. Some cases point to how young players, not always astute about money, have been poorly advised. It raises the need for wealth managers to lift standards and build protections. (See a collection of stories about problems here.)

The soccer star joined Turin-based Juventus in July last year, in a deal with Real Madrid worth €110 million, which means that the player earns about €30 million a year. 

Among other European players hit was Gareth Bale, the Welsh player now at Real Madrid. Late last year Bale was fined almost €337,000 by Spain for using a UK company to avoid paying tax on his image rights earnings in Spain. José Mourinho, the former Manchester United boss who has overseen a number of high-profile clubs including Real Madrid, has reached a deal with Spain over a tax dispute. Mourinho reportedly agreed to pay a fine of €2 million ($2.3m) as well as agreeing to a one-year suspended jail sentence.

“As possibly the best known football player in the world, Ronaldo is low-hanging fruit for the Spanish tax authorities. The threat of a criminal conviction has led him to strike a deal, when his case should really have been heard in the tax courts, as it would appear that it has merits,” Miles Dean, managing partner of Milestone International Tax, a London-based firm, said.

“Like Gareth Bale, Ronaldo went to some effort to implement a structure that was not overtly aggressive, unlike some other lesser known players. It seems, however, that tax authorities in Spain and the UK are not willing to consider the reality of image rights arrangements. Instead, they would rather see them either as disguised remuneration or, as in Ronaldo’s case, skew the rules to fit the desired outcome, namely, a successful prosecution,” Dean added.