Several sportspeople have had run-ins with the authorities over tax issues, and football is no exception. Many football stars and officials, from Argentine footballing great Diego Maradona to Barcelona sensation Lionel Messi, have fallen foul of the taxman. Here, we look at some of the most notable instances from the last few years.
CONVICTED | LIONEL MESSI
The five-time world player of the year was sentenced to 21 months in prison in July 2016, confirmed on appeal, for tax evasion, for failing to pay taxes on 4.16 million euros ($4.6 million) of his image rights revenue from 2007 to 2009.
The prison sentence will be suspended, as is customary in Spain for first-time nonviolent offenders sentenced to under two years.
CONVICTED | JAVIER MASCHERANO
In January 2016, Messi's Barcelona and Argentina teammate Mascherano received a one-year suspended sentence for tax evasion after being found guilty of failing to pay 1.5 million euros in taxes for 2011 and 2012.
Unlike Messi, he escaped prosecution by admitting to tax evasion.
CONVICTED | ULI HOENESS
Hoeness, the president of German giants Bayern Munich, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after being convicted in March 2014 of failing to pay at least 28.5 million euros in taxes.
After serving 21 months, he was released in late February 2016. He was re-elected as Bayern's president in November 2016.
CONVICTED | ROMARIO
Romario de Souza Faria, the Brazilian world champion in 1994, was sentenced to two and a half years of community service and fined 391,000 reales ($117,000) for tax evasion in 2009 by a Rio de Janeiro court.
Despite his legal problems and debts, the great striker entered politics, becoming a Brazilian representative in 2010 and a senator four years later.
SUSPECTED CRISTIANO RONALDO
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is accused of avoiding 14.7 million euros in taxes and is scheduled to appear before a Spanish judge on July 31.
Between 2011 and 2014, the Portuguese star was charged with four counts of fraud through offshore entities.
MOURINHO, JOSE | SUSPECTED
Mourinho, the manager of Manchester United, is accused of avoiding 3.3 million euros in taxes when in charge of Real Madrid in 2011 and 2012. Mourinho, like Ronaldo, is a client of the Portuguese super agency Jorge Mendes.
SUSPECTED | SAMUEL ETO'O
Prosecutors in Spain sought a prison sentence of more than ten years and fines of 18 million euros in November 2016 for Cameroonian football legend Eto'o, suspected of failing to pay 3.9 million euros in taxes during his spell at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Other footballers who have played for Barcelona, such as Brazil's Adriano Correia and Chile's Alexis Sanchez, have faced similar legal difficulties.
NEYMAR | SUSPECTED
Neymar, a Brazilian superstar who also plays for Barcelona, is accused of corruption about the circumstances of his 2013 move from the Brazilian team Santos.
A Spanish prosecution demanded that Neymar serve two years in prison and pay a fine of 10 million euros in November 2016.
While they investigate whether the forward failed to disclose a 10-million-euro payment made by Barcelona to get preferential rights to his service, Brazilian law officials have blocked part of his assets, estimated to be worth 43.5 million euros.
A suspected Radamel Falco
Falcao, a Colombian striker who played for Atletico Madrid from 2012 to 2013, is suspected of failing to report 5.6 million euros in image rights income properly.
Mendes, his agent, has been called to testify before a Spanish court as part of the investigation.
SUSPECTED: DIEGO MARADONA
The top court in Italy ordered Argentine football great Diego Maradona to pay 37.2 million euros in restitution for tax evasion in 2005.
An Italian court acknowledged a procedural error in the probe in November 2012 and ordered a fresh investigation, which is still underway.
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