Spanish tax authorities confirm Ronaldo's affairs in order
According to a certificate issued by the Spanish tax authorities, published by Gestifute on their website, dated 30 November 2016, the Madrid striker is up to date with his tax affairs.Real Madrid-Barcelona live online
In response to various claims published in the media over the past few days, stating that Cristiano Ronaldo may have committed tax irregularities in supposedly receiving 150 million euros of image rights income into companies in tax havens, Gestifute, the company that represents the Real Madrid striker, has responded by publishing a statement on its website, along with a certificate from the Spanish tax authorities, stating that Ronaldo's tax affairs are currently in order.
Ronaldo tax affairs "up to date"
According to the certificate, issued on 30 November of this year, Cristiano has no outstanding tax debt and is, as far as the authorities are aware, up to date with his tax obligations.
Tax authorities will investigate Ronaldo
The certificate states that it is based on the information held by the tax authorities, and expressly notes that it in no way affects the results of any investigations or check carried out subsequent to being issued. The Spanish secretary of state for the treasury has said that Ronaldo will be investigated if the tax authorities consider it to be appropriate.
Sources close to Ronaldo say he has never tried to evade tax
According to sources consulted by this newspaper, Cristiano Ronaldo was recently the subject of a tax investigation. The player and his advisers followed the tax audit process and were entirely relaxed about the process, as, according to sources close to Ronaldo, at no point has the striker attempted to evade tax. According to the sources, Cristiano and Gestifute informed the Spanish tax authorities when he arrived in 2009 of the company structure he held at that point, which was set up while he was at Manchester United.
Statement from Gestifute
Gestifute issued the following statement on 1 December:
In March 2016, a number of different companies connected to the world of sports were victims of a cyberattack in several European countries, including Spain. As a result of this, some of the companies complained to the Spanish Court of Justice. The Spanish Court has made an order prohibiting the publication of information obtained as a result of the cyberattack since it constituted a criminal offense. This investigation is subject to secrecy, so no further information about the investigation can be revealed.
After more than eight months since the attack, in the past weeks Gestifute, its clients, advisors and other entities related to Gestifute have received detailed enquiries from various media organizations which are all members of a pan-European consortium.
The tone used in the various questionnaires that were received is insidious, disrespectful, threatening and a far cry from the most basic standards of journalism’s best practices.
Particularly, a newspaper, which was initially not part of the consortium and which, according to the prohibitions ordered by the Spanish Court, claims to work alongside with it, has become a necessary cooperator of the referred consortium in order to try to attack the interests of Gestifute and those of its clients, thus trying to avoid its alleged legal responsibilities in the dissemination of manipulated, distorted, biased and stolen information.
One newspaper makes the unfounded allegation that Gestifute, its clients and its advisers of having, directly or indirectly, created, organized or designed tax structures to facilitate tax evasion using tax havens. The most serious and malicious allegations in the enquiries relate to José Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Furthermore, today news have come out insinuating a reprehensible conduct by Cristiano Ronaldo and questioning his good name.
In this regard, Gestifute publicly states that:
- Both Cristiano Ronaldo and José Mourinho are fully compliant with their tax obligations with the Spanish and British tax authorities.
- Neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor José Mourinho have ever been involved in legal proceedings regarding the commission of a tax offense.
- Any insinuation or accusation made to Cristiano Ronaldo or José Mourinho over the commission of a tax offense will be reported to the legal authorities and prosecuted.
In addition, Gestifute publicly states that:
- We always act with the highest level of professionalism in our relationships with our clients and the authorities in all those countries in which we operate.
- Our goal as a company is to provide the best advice to our clients, always within the framework of the applicable law at the time in each country we operate.
- European tax authorities have different criteria in terms of image rights and foreign clients are often affected by these differences, which they respect and abide by.
- In any cases in which there have been disagreements with the respective authorities on the tax criteria to be applied, these have always been resolved by agreement with the authorities without legal proceedings ever being necessary.
- We will not hesitate to take legal action to defend ourselves and our clients over any untrue and unlawful allegations published about us.
