"I always fulfill my tax obligations and never intend to hide anything. Those who know me will understand what my true self is.
My name is Cristiano Ronaldo and I am standing here to prove my innocence. I believe justice will be enforced," Ronaldo replied firmly in court.
Prosecutors in court continuously used evidence related to a "ghost company" in the Virgin Islands, USA to accuse Ronaldo of having embezzled his fees thereby. However, the Portuguese star and his lawyer denied all allegations.
Ronaldo's trial attracted a large number of media outlets to stand ready and wait for CR7 to appear. However, no one could see the 32-year-old star's face up close when he was escorted by a black car with a glass blocker and was given a lot of protection from the tower when getting off the car.
Ronaldo has been suspected of tax evasion since May 2017 after many anonymous complaints filed in Spanish court. Due to the serious nature of the case, with the suspected tax evasion amount amounting to 14 million Euros, the Madrid court was forced to summon CR7 for a hearing before the court.
Before Ronaldo, many big stars were involved in tax evasion. The most typical case is Lionel Messi when this striker admitted to tax evasion with an amount of up to 7.5 million Euros and accepted to wear a suspended shirt for 21 months and was also subject to full payment of the tax evasion.
With the figure of 14 million Euros, if found guilty in court, Ronaldo could not avoid the disaster of standing on the threshold because Spanish law stipulates tax evasion, the defendant can be sentenced to a suspended sentence if his prison term is less than 24 months.
