Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has taken aim at the news of a fresh tax fraud scandal embroiling him with an Instagram post, decrying it as lies as he has asked the media to ‘stop trying to spoil the happy moment’ he’s in.
Não tentem apagar o momento bonito que estou vivendo com notícias falsas!!! Life is good. Blessed
A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) on
The reigning Ballon d’Or holder’s post, after translation, reads as: “Don’t try to erase the beautiful moment I’m living with fake news!!! Life is good. Blessed.”
Ronaldo, who achieved a career landmark of 50 hat-tricks with a quadruple against Girona in the La Liga on the weekend, was charged in 2017 for fraudulently evading almost €15 million in tax between 2011 and 2014, a claim which he has continued to vehemently deny at almost every instance.
The 33-year-old Portuguese joined a long list of high-profile personalities from the footballing world to have fallen foul with tax authorities in Spain as arch-rival and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, former Real Madrid manager and current Manchester United incumbent Jose Mourinho, and ex-Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso, among many others, have been at the centre of a tax-fraud storm over the past year.
Ronaldo’s case is still ongoing, but if reports are to be believed, Los Blancos’ No.7 is keen on a out of court settlement, not unlike what Messi settled for.
The Barcelona forward had to shell out a lump sum amount to get the tax authorities off his back last year.
The Spanish Treasury has been cracking down on high net-worth individuals, who often stash their millions in tax havens like the Virgin Islands, in a bid to escape the relatively-steep tax slabs in Spain (close to 50 per cent).
Currently, Ronaldo is on international duty with the Portugal senior side and will not return to Spain until after the international break concludes.
A Selecao das Quinas, 2016 European champions, take on Egypt (March 23) and Holland (March 26) in their final international clashes before the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Ronaldo will be looking to put all the off-field controversies firmly behind him and let his boots do the talking.