Cristiano Ronaldo's Representatives Deny Allegations He Evaded £13M in Tax

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has denied accusations of tax evasion after the Spanish authorities filed a lawsuit against him in relation to £13 million he allegedly defrauded between 2011 and 2014. Furthermore, Real have defended their star in the wake of these allegations.

Reuters (h/t the Daily Mail) provided context on the £13 million Ronaldo is alleged to owe after hiding his image rights income through a business structure set up in 2010.

The forward's representatives, Gestifute, denied the accusations on Tuesday and said: "There is no tax evasion scheme ... There has never been any hiding nor any intention to hide anything."

Ronaldo is alleged to have defrauded Spain's tax authorities of £1.23 million in 2011, £1.49 million in 2012, £2.81 million in 2013 and £7.47 million in 2014.

BBC Sport reporter Dan Roan provided a look at the full statement:

Real released a statement via the club's official website, which read:

"Real Madrid C.F have full confidence in our player Cristiano Ronaldo, who we understand has acted in accordance with the legality regarding the fulfilment of his fiscal obligations."
 
"Since his arrival at Real Madrid C.F in July 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo has always shown a clear will to fulfil all his tax obligations. Real Madrid C.F. are absolutely convinced that our player, Cristiano Ronaldo, will prove his total innocence in this process."
 
"Real Madrid C.F. hope that justice is done as quickly as possible so that his innocence can be proven as soon as possible."

The timing of the alleged offence matches up with the beginning of Ronaldo's true rise to becoming the superstar he is on the field today, having joined Real from Manchester United for £80 million in the summer of 2009.

The Guardian's Sid Lowe posted images of Wednesday's front covers from a variety of Spanish newspapers, and Catalan daily Sport noted Ronaldo appeared out of Real colours for the most part:

Gestifute maintain Ronaldo's documents stretch back to his time in England and believe that "different interpretations between the British and Spanish tax system" could be the reason for the allegations, per Reuters.

Ronaldo is currently on international duty with Portugal at the 2017 Confederations Cup, and German outlet DW Sports provided more context on the story as his concentration levels are sure to be affected by such allegations:

Los Blancos won a third UEFA Champions League title in the space of four seasons earlier this month, when Ronaldo scored twice at the Principality Stadium to see his side to a 4-1 win over Juventus.

Several other high-profile La Liga stars have faced similar accusations, and ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan noted in January that Ronaldo would join Barcelona ace Lionel Messi in tax fraud embroilment:

Sky Sports reported last month that Messi lost an appeal in the Spanish supreme court against tax fraud charges levied against him, albeit for the lower amount of €4.1 million (£3.5 million).

No court date has been set in Ronaldo's case as of yet.