Xabi Alonso acquitted of tax fraud by Madrid court

Former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso has been acquitted of tax fraud by a court in Madrid.

Alonso was accused of defrauding the Spanish tax office of almost €2million between 2010 and 2012, when he was at Real Madrid.

The Prosecutor’s Office had called for a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, but at a ruling on Tuesday, Alonso – who had always denied any wrongdoing – was found not guilty.

Two advisors to Alonso, Ivan Zaldua and Ignasi Maestre, were also acquitted.

Several high-profile names have been the subject of separate tax cases in Spain. 

In June 2018, former Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo – now with Juventus – accepted a suspended two-year jail term and total fine of €18.8million to end a dispute with authorities in relation to the taxation of image rights.

A year earlier, Spain’s public prosecutor agreed to substitute a suspended 21-month prison sentence with a fine for Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Alonso joined Liverpool in 2004 and spent five years with the Reds, winning a Champions League and FA Cup during his time on Merseyside.

He won another Champions League with Madrid, as well as a LaLiga title and two Copas del Rey before seeing out his career at Bayern where he collected three Bundesliga trophies and a DFB-Pokal medal.