Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has agreed to pay a €3.3million (£2.94m) tax debt for the time he was Real Madrid coach.
Mourinho had been accused of tax fraud by the Spanish authorities during his time as the Real Madrid manager, and he traveled to the Spanish capital to appear in court on Friday.
He arrived at court room No 4 in Pozuelo de Alarcon just outside of Madrid at 9.33am local time for his 10am appearance.
“I did not argue. I have paid and signed with the state to say I am definitely tax compliant,” he told reporters.
Jorge Mendes's Gestifute agency, that represents Mourinho issued a statement issued earlier this year.
It read: “Jose Mourinho paid more than €26 million in taxes, with an average tax rate over 41 percent, and accepted the regularisation proposals made by the Spanish tax authorities in 2015 regarding the years of 2011 and 2012 and entered into a settlement agreement regarding 2013.
“The Spanish Government issued a certificate in which it attested that he had regularised his position and was in compliance with all his tax obligations.”
Mourinho was accused of failing to declare income of €1.6 million in 2011 and €1.7 million in 2012 by receiving earnings from images rights into a web of offshore companies based in tax havens established to keep them from the attention of the Spanish tax man.
The practice is widespread and was once overlooked by authorities in Spain but when an investigation suggested Spain was missing out on up to €190m of tax there was a crack down on players and coaches, according to the Daily Mail.
