Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is innocent of tax fraud claims leveled against him by a Spanish prosecutor and has had his tax affairs ratified by the Spanish Government, according to his advisers.
Jose Mourinho’s representatives have released documents to show he “was in compliance with all his tax obligations” after it emerged Spanish prosecutors have filed a complaint accusing the Portuguese coach of committing two crimes of tax fraud to the sum of €3.3m (£2.9m) during his time as Real Madrid coach.
A prosecutor said Mr Mourinho, 54, did not declare income from image rights in order to get an “illicit benefit”.
A statement released on his behalf said he “has not received any notification”.
The Gestifute Media release added: “To this date, neither the Spanish tax authorities, nor the public prosecutor have contacted Jose Mourinho or his advisers who were hired for the inspection process.”
Mourinho guided Real Madrid to the 2011/12 LaLiga title, returning to manage Chelsea after leaving the Bernabeu in June 2013 before taking over as Manchester United boss last summer.
The statement also said Mr Mourinho “paid more than €26m in taxes, with an average tax rate of over 41%” during the three years until May 2013 and that he “entered into a settlement agreement” with the Spanish tax authorities after a change of rules in 2015.
Mr Mourinho has been accused of two counts of tax fraud – €1.6m in 2011 and €1.7m in 2012. The Madrid prosecutor said the case was presented to a local court.
Other prominent football figures have been accused of tax fraud in Spain in recent months.
Spanish authorities have also recently filed papers against Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who is accused of evading tax of some €14.7m (£12.8m) by hiding income from image rights.
The Portugal forward has strenuously denied the allegations and threatened to quit the country.
Last year, Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and his father Jorge were found guilty of tax evasion on the Argentina international’s image rights, with more than 4m euros (£3.52m) owed in back payments.