The Croatian footballer will not go to prison, however, and has accepted an eight-month suspended prison sentence as part of the agreement with Spanish prosecutors.
While we wait for Monday and the winners to be named in the FIFA Best Awards (recall, Modrić has been nominated for the best men’s player), Croatia national team captain and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modrić has received yet another ‘prize’. The famous footballer has admitted to tax fraud and accepted an eight-month suspended prison sentence, which he arranged as part of a plea bargain deal with the Spanish State Prosecutor’s Office, reports Goal.hr on September 22, 2018.
The Real Madrid star, however, will not flaunt a prison uniform.
Modrić agreed with the prosecutors and pleaded fully guilty to the charges by the Tax Agency, which are two criminal offenses of tax evasion in the amount of EUR 870,728.00.
The captain of the Croatia national team, according to the prosecutor’s allegations, evaded EUR 290,990.00 in 2013 and EUR 579,738.00 in 2014 for image rights, which he transferred to a limited company named Ivano (named after his son), headquartered in Luxembourg.
Modrić has agreed with the state to pay 40 percent of the amount, which is roughly EUR 350,000.00 and will be given a chance to substitute the prison term for a fine of EUR 60,000.00. This is an additional EUR 400,000.00 to the EUR 1 million he already paid for tax fraud at the start of the criminal proceedings, meaning his punishment amounts to roughly EUR 1.4 million.
Earlier this month, Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho also came to an agreement with Spanish prosecutors over his EUR 3.3 million bill.
