Alexis Sanchez appeared in a Spanish court this morning via video link and pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud. The incident happened when the Chilean was at FC Barcelona and is one of a number of players to have been prosecuted by police (via Sport).
Well, it’s hardly the typical story for a footballer but Alexis Sanchez could be sentenced to jail time after pleading guilty to tax fraud. Sanchez allegedly avoided payments of close to €1,000,000 during his time at FC Barcelona and despite paying the sum back, will still face a fine and probably be sentenced to some jail time – although it is unlikely he will actually spend time behind bars.
Alexis Sanchez is the latest in a string of current or former FC Barcelona players to be convicted of the crime after Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Samuel Eto’o were just some of the other high-profile cases.
Spanish publication Sport reports that the evaded payments came from the player’s image rights which were put through a company based in Malta.
Sanchez and his lawyers will meet up with Spanish authorities in the coming weeks to discuss the size of the fine and the prison sentence. The length should be short which would allow it to be suspended, preventing the player from spending any actual time behind bars.
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