Man Utd boss Mourinho refutes tax fraud accusations

Manchester United’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho reacts after the UEFA Europa League final between Ajax Amsterdam and Manchester United at Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, May  二 四,  二0 一 七 (reissued on June  二0,  二0 一 七). Mourinho has been accused of tax fraud by Spanish prosecutors investigating his time as Real Madrid’s head coach. — EPA Photo

MADRID — Jose Mourinho’s advisers have hit back at accusations that the Manchester United manager failed to pay millions of euros in taxes to the Spanish authorities during his time in charge of Real Madrid.

The  五 四-year-old Portuguese, who coached Madrid from  二0 一0 to  二0 一 三, has been accused of "two offences against the public treasury", the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

They claim that Mourinho, who took over at United last year, failed to declare  三. 三 million euros (US$ 三. 七m) during his time in the Spanish capital -  一. 六 million euros in  二0 一 一 and  一. 七 million euros in  二0 一 二.

But a statement released by Mourinho’s representatives Gestifute Media said he had not been informed personally of the accusations.

They also circulated a copy of a tax document dated July  三,  二0 一 五, which covers the period in question.

According to Gestifute, Mourinho "paid more than  二 六 million euros in taxes, at an average rate above  四 一 per cent and accepted regularisation proposals from the tax authorities in  二0 一 五 relating to the years  二0 一 一 and  二0 一 二, and resolved by agreement his situation for the year  二0 一 三".

The statement also said that Mourinho had received a certificate from the authorities confirming that he was "up to date with all his tax obligations".

The accusations come as Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was su妹妹oned to appear before a judge next month, accused of tax evasion of  一 四. 七 million euros.

The  三 二-year-old Portuguese star is facing four charges of fraud through offshore companies between  二0 一 一 and  二0 一 四 and will appear before a judge on July  三 一, judicial sources told AFP.

The four-time world player of the year, who said last week his "conscience is clear", is threatening to leave Madrid over the affair, according to Spanish and Portuguese media.

Mendes in eye of storm

Both Ronaldo and Mourinho are clients of football super-agent Jorge Mendes, who has been su妹妹oned to appear before the court at Pozuelo de Alarcon, just outside Madrid, on June  二 七.

Revelations from the whistleblowing website Football Leaks have lifted the veil on the practices supposedly used by Mendes to optimise often enormous earnings from image rights by his clients.

Media consortium European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) has claimed that no less than  一 八 五 million euros worth of income has escaped the attentions of tax authorities using shell companies and offshore accounts.

Other clients of Mendes who have ended up in Spain include the Portuguese full-back Fabio Coentrao -- on the verge of joining Sporting Lisbon on loan from Real Madrid -- and Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, now with Monaco but formerly at Atletico Madrid.

Falcao himself is suspected of failing to correctly declare  五. 六 million euros of income earned from image rights between  二0 一 二 and  二0 一 三 while he was at Atletico.

Coentrao is suspected of failing to correctly declare  一. 三 million euros of income.

In three years with Real Madrid, Mourinho won La Liga in  二0 一 二 and the Spanish Cup in  二0 一 一.

After leaving Madrid, he returned to England for a second spell with

Chelsea before joining United, with whom he won the Europa League and the League Cup in the season just finished.

The football world in Spain has been rocked by charges of tax evasion or corruption pressed against some of its other leading stars.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi was sentenced to a  二 一-month jail sentence and  二.0 九 million euro fine last year for tax fraud.

The prison term will be suspended as is co妹妹on in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years.

The  二 九-year-old and his father Jorge Horacio Messi were found guilty of using offshore companies to avoid paying taxes on  四. 一 六 million euros of Messi’s income earned from his image rights from  二00 七 to  二00 九.

Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano also agreed a one-year suspended sentence with authorities for tax fraud last year.

Meanwhile Brazil star and Barcelona forward Neymar and his parents are due to stand trial for alleged corruption over his transfer from Santos in  二0 一 三. — AFP