Real Madrid star and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo must decide whether or not to plead guilty by August 20 in his court case for alleged tax fraud, say reports.
Football Leaks Spain report the 32-year-old has two options relating to his trial at this point – to continue along the course of pleading innocence or accept the charges of fraud.
Should he continue to claim total innocence and he is then found guilty by the court, he would face a minimum sentence of seven years in prison which is a considerable risk.
Furthermore, the report states that experts say it is ‘highly unlikely’ the former Manchester United star would be cleared of the charges and continuing down his current path could potentially see him end up in prison.
The only alternative to Ronaldo is change tact and accept the charges, which would see him face a heavy financial punishment and possible prison sentence but unlikely to be enough to ensure he spends any time in jail.
Spain’s prosecution laws mean that first-time offenders do not have to serve jail time should they be sentenced to less than two years in prison.
