Cristiano Ronaldo's lawyer, Antonio Lobo Xavier, has said he is surprised by accusations that the Real Madrid forward, defrauded Spain's tax office of €14.7 million in unpaid taxes. It added that Ronaldo falsely claimed the income as coming from real estate, which "greatly" reduced his tax rate.
The four counts of tax fraud were based on a report from Spain's tax agency, it said in a statement.
Ronaldo's agent has denied any wrongdoing.
The statement said Ronaldo used what the prosecutor deems a shell company in the Virgin Islands to "create a screen in order to hide his total income from Spain's Tax Office".
"Cristiano Ronaldo has always shown since his arrival at Real Madrid CF, in July 2009, a clear will to fulfill all his tax obligations", said the club on its website.
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"There is no off shore structure for evading taxes", Gestifute said in a statement. In a statement, representatives of the world's highest paid footballer said there had never been concealment, or the slightest intention to hide.
The 32-year-old Ronaldo - the world's highest-paid athlete according to Forbes magazine - follows in the footsteps of Barcelona forward and Argentina star Lionel Messi, who was found guilty of the same offence last year, although the sums involved were allegedly smaller.
Between 2005 and 2010, foreign players in Spain were protected under the so-called "Beckham law" allowing them to curb their taxes.
The prosecutor's office alleges that Ronaldo had defrauded the tax authorities of 1.4 million euros in 2011, 1.7 million euros in 2012, 3.2 million euros in 2013 and 8.5 million euros in 2014. On this occasion he is accused of knowingly using a "business structure" to hide income made from his image rights.
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