CR7 faced Spanish court today

CRISTIANO RONALDO faced a Spanish court today, facing charges over a £13.1million unpaid tax bill.

The Real Madrid superstar is accused of failing to pay tax on image rights dating back to 2010 – but claimed he “would not be here” if he had a different name. He told the Spanish press: “If my name was not Cristiano Ronaldo I would not be here.”

The 32-year-old has denied any wrongdoing and said his “conscience is clear.”

Ronaldo did not immediately speak to the media after a 90-minute session at a court in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a wealthy suburb of Madrid.

But he later released a statement and claimed his innocence.

The Ballon d’Or holder said: “There has never been concealment in my statements nor the slightest intention to evade taxes.

“I believe in justice.”

Prosecutors accuse Ronaldo of taking “advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities”.

They say it was a “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain”.

Ronaldo and his management deny all allegations – as the session ended, Inaki Torres of his management company Gestifute said that “everything is in order” in regards to the case

The superstar did not enter or leave through the front door of the court, as a huge crowd of media and fans gathered.

If found guilty, Ronaldo is facing a fine of at least “£25m” and a prison sentence of three-and-a-half years, experts at the Spanish Inland Revenue say.

Spanish tax authorities have chased a number of high-profile footballers in recent years.

Ronaldo’s great rival Lionel Messi was found GUILTY of the same charge last month. The Barcelona star was given a 21-month jail sentence – although a court ruled he could pay a £225,000 fine to avoid serving time behind bars.

Messi, however, was only accused of evading £3.67m of tax, almost £10m less than Ronaldo.

Neymar has also been ordered to stand trial for tax fraud.

Ronaldo’s wealth is estimated to be as much as £230m.

He earns £440,000-a-week at Real Madrid and has numerous endorsement deals – including a lifetime deal with Nike reportedly worth £1billion.

From The Sun