Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo will reunite with former teammate Xabi Alonso, as the duo are set to appear in court over separate tax eviction charges.
Ronaldo is expected to plead guilty after he reportedly agreed to a £16.4m fine and a suspended jail term to settle the charges.
Alonso is expected to be in court for the first time after being charged of defrauding tax authorities amount in the tune of €2 million. Alonso however has denied such accusations.
Alonso and Ronaldo are not the only players in Spain that have been accused of tax eviction as Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Marcelo have been accused of tax eviction relating to non-declaration of earnings in image rights.
Portugal international Ronaldo, who is expected to feature for Juventus against Chievo on Monday, was accused of trying to hide money linked to image rights made between 2011 and 2014 totaling £13m
The Portuguese international offered to pay £12m in June 2017 but the government rebuffed the offer, El Mundo newspaper reported.
In the case of Alonso, who retired in 2017 after a career including spells at Liverpool and Bayern Munich as well as a World Cup win with Spain in 2010, prosecutors are seeking a five-year jail term.