Former Real Madrid star Xabi Alonso acquitted of tax fraud in Spain

Former Real Madrid player and current Real Sociedad coach Xabi Alonso has been acquitted on three counts of tax fraud.

The former Liverpool midfielder and Spain international, unlike other high-profile players, always refuted the charges against him as set out by the Hacienda tax operation in the country.

He retired from playing in 2017 and has been coaching the reserve team at La Real this season, with Marca outlining the details on the court case.

Alonso had been attending the Madrid courts of Plaza de Castilla as he stood accused of defrauding the state of a grand total of €572,008.

Prosecutors had been demanding that the ex-Liverpool star be hit with a five-year prison sentence and a €2m fine over the incident, while a further three counts of fiscal fraud were alleged to have been carried out between the period of 2010 and 2012.

Alonso had stood accused of working with accountant Ivan Zaldua Azcuenaga and Kardazli Commercial Services company director Ignasi Maestre Casanova – who were also cleared on Tuesday – to fraudulently sell his image rights “with the intention of obtaining an illicit fiscal benefit”.

Alonso had been denying any wrongdoing as far back as March 2018: “I trust that this will end in good port even though it is going to be long, but I am convinced that I have always done everything well.”

Alonso joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 in a £30m move from Liverpool. He spent five seasons with Madrid before joining Bayern Munich in the summer of 2014.

Tags Xabi Alonso
La Liga - Club News