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Tag: cristiano ronaldo

  • Cristiano Ronaldo Due in Court for Fraud Allegations

    Cristiano Ronaldo Due in Court for Fraud Allegations

    Real Madrid vice-captain Marcelo says he and his teammates will support Cristiano Ronaldo “to the death” amid uncertainty over whether the Portugal captain will play for the club again.

    Cristiano Ronaldo 32, is due in court in Madrid on July 31 to answer charges brought by prosecutors at Spain’s Hacienda tax authority, who maintain that he used a network of offshore companies to avoid paying at least €14.7 million in tax on ‘image rights’ income, with experts saying that jail time is a real possibility if he does not admit guilt and pay a fine.

    The four-time Ballon d’Or winner’s camp have maintained that he is innocent of any wrongdoing, and indignation at what he sees as persecution in Spain lead him to let it be known he was keen to leave the country. The boarding of his yacht by customs agents this week reportedly served as further provocation.

    Speaking from a news conference at UCLA ahead of a preseason training session, Marcelo said he would wait to discuss the issue until Ronaldo joined up with the squad — which may or may not be in time for Aug. 2’s International Champions Cup Clasico against Barcelona in Miami.

    “I have not spoken with Cristiano about this,” Marcelo said. “He knows that his teammates are with him to the death. When he arrives we will speak with him and see how he is.”

    Madrid landed in Los Angeles on Tuesday to begin their preparations ahead of an ICC schedule which begins on July 23 in Santa Clara, California, with a high-profile meeting with Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. Los Blancos also face their former boss’ side in the UEFA Super Cup in Skopje, Macedeonia, on Aug 8.

    The atmosphere between the two clubs is currently tense, according to sources at the English club, due to competition for facilities in LA and a feeling that Madrid will make another effort to sign United goalkeeper David De Gea later this summer.

    Marcelo was asked if there was outstanding “morbo,” or needle, from Mourinho’s three seasons in charge at the Bernabeu, during which he had fallen out with Blancos stars including then-captain Iker Casillas and current skipper Sergio Ramos.

    “I’ve not seen [Mourinho] here yet,” he said. “I don’t know what ‘morbo’ means. I never had any problems with him, have no reason for revenge. I played against him before, with no problem. It’s always great to play against the best, he is one of those, and helped me a lot when he was at Madrid.”

    Marcelo said he was mostly interested in getting down to work and preparing well for the new season under the eye of the club’s physical preparation specialist Antonio Pintus.

    “This is our third day here and we must keep going like this — work, work, work,” he said. “Preseason is key for the whole season. Last year we we were very tired, but it was important as we reached the end of the season stronger.

    “This year will be the same, we will work very hard, to reach the end of the season well and fight for trophies.”

  • Armed customs officers invade Ronaldo’s yacht

    Armed customs officers invade Ronaldo’s yacht

    Armed customs officers are reported to have boarded Cristiano Ronaldo’s holiday yacht as part of an inspection.

    The Real Madrid star is said to have been stopped at high sea after leaving a restaurant on the paradise island of Formentera near Ibiza.

    Ronaldo, 32, was reportedly on the yacht with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez and friends and family when the officials approached the vessel on a large boat.

    The Real Madrid star is said to have been stopped at high sea after leaving a restaurant on the paradise island of Formentera near Ibiza.

    The routine inspection is said to have lasted around an hour and a half.

    Spanish society magazine Hola, which broke the news today, published pictures on its website of three officials boarding the yacht.

    ‘One of Cristiano’s relatives was the person who dealt with the administrative work and showed them the documentation they asked for.

    ‘Ronaldo stayed very calm and at no time did he get up to speak to the officials or ask about what was happening.

    ‘He was with his girlfriend Georgina and his mother Dolores Aveiro, who he was seen chatting with inside the yacht.’

    The footballer and his entourage were understood to be on their way back to Ibiza when they were stopped.

    The inspection is believed to have formed part of routine checks performed on vessels in the area, related to the paperwork on board to make sure the correct taxes have been paid.

    The Customs agents are understood to have left after discovering everything on board Cristiano’s yacht, named as AYa London, was in order.

    Spanish Tax Agency officials are not expected to make any official comment.

    A source quoted by leading Spanish daily El Mundo described the inspection as ‘a routine control on vessels of the type that are carried out every summer in the Balearic Islands.’

    Customs agents are understood to have made their unexpected appearance just off the Formentera shoreline as Cristiano returned from a restaurant with his mother, girlfriend and children including his new surrogate twins Eva and Mateo.

    The Real Madrid star is currently enjoying his last few days holiday in the Balearics before the start of his club’s pre-season.

    Ronaldo is due to attend court at the end of the month to testify as part of an investigation into his tax affairs over claims he may have defrauded £12.9 million by paying insufficient tax over a four-year period.

    There is no suggestion the inspection and the court probe are linked in any way.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo ‘earns £310,000 per Instagram post’

    Cristiano Ronaldo ‘earns £310,000 per Instagram post’

     

    The power of social media has been highlighted by a new report which claims each of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Instagram posts earns him £310,000.

    A study by Instagram schedulers Hopper puts the Real Madrid’s influence third in their top-10 earners list, behind only singer Selena Gomez and Kim Kardashian.

    Ronaldo, who boasts a following of 106million on the social network, is a prolific contributor – regularly adding multiple images each day of his excursions around the world.

    And Hopper says that every time he does so, he adds a significant chunk to his already considerable riches.

    Ronaldo is one of only two sportsmen in the top 10.

    Basketball sensation LeBron James sits in 10th with each of his posts apparently earning him £93,000.

    He and Ronaldo are the only two men on the list, with reality TV family the Kardashians dominating.

    As well as Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian and Kendall and Kyle Jenner all occupy places in the top seven.

    The rest of the line-up is made up by Cara Delevingne and Gigi Hadid. Below is the Hopper report top 10:

    1 Selena Gomez – 122 million followers – £425,000 per post

    2 Kim Kardashian – 100 million followers –  £387,000 per post

    3 Cristiano Ronaldo – 104 million followers – £310,000 per post

    4 Kylie Jenner – 95 million followers – £310,000 per post

    5 Kendall Jenner – 81.7 million followers – £286,000 per post

    6 Khloe Kardashian – 68 million followers – £193,000 per post

    7 Kourtney Kardashian – 57.8 million followers – £193,000 per post

    8 Cara Delevingne – 40.4 million followers – £116,000 per post

    9 Gigi Hadid 34.7 million followers – £93,000 per post

    10 Lebron James – 30.7 million followers – £93,000 per post

  • Ronaldo surprises Vardy’s stepson with signed jersey

    Ronaldo surprises Vardy’s stepson with signed jersey

     

    Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps too heavily focused upon for his self-centred actions while out on the football pitch, largely leaving his good deeds glossed over.

    But the Portuguese superstar has showed just how much of a gentleman he is this week by surprising the stepson of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy with a signed Real Madrid shirt.

    Vardy’s partner Rebekah took to her personal Instagram account on Wednesday to share a picture of the chuffed youngster proudly holding his Madrid shirt signed by the Ballon d’Or holder

    Captioning the image, Rebekah wrote: ‘Now that’s one lucky boy…. Thank you @cristiano for making this little boy so happy #hero #ronaldo #realmadrid.’

    The personally signed shirt was addressed directly to the youngster from Ronaldo, and came bearing the iconic winger’s printed name and famous no 7.

    Vardy and his partner have two children together, while Rebekah has Taylor and 11-year-old Megan from a previous relationship.

    The young family could be seen joining Vardy on the field as the 2016/17 season came to an end and Leicester successfully confirmed their Premier League status.

    A troubled season for the title-defending Foxes saw the threat of relegation beckon, only for fortunes to turn once Craig Shakespeare took over at the helm following the dismissal of Claudio Ranieri.

    Leicester have already returned to pre-season training ahead of the coming campaign, as they bid to build upon their late resurgence last year

    Vardy, as part of the Foxes personnel on international duty at the end of last season, has been granted additional time off.

    Leicester will travel to the Far East later this month as part of their pre-season tour of Hong Kong.

  • Ronaldo introduces his newborn twins to Ronaldo Jr

    Ronaldo introduces his newborn twins to Ronaldo Jr

     

    Cristiano Ronaldo has introduced his newborn twins to his son Cristiano Ronaldo Jr while on holiday.

    The Real Madrid star posted a picture on Instagram with him and his son holding his daughter Eva and himself clutching Mateo as they chilled out on holiday.

    And along with the photo, the Portugal international posted the message ‘blessed’ as he posed with all of his children for the first time.

    Ronaldo was relaxing on holiday after a long season, which culminated in his appearance at the Confederations Cup with Portugal.

    The striker was able to guide his side to the semi-finals, where they lost on penalties to eventual runners-up Chile, before Ronaldo left the squad ahead of the third-place play-off win over Mexico.

    The 32-year-old announced the birth of twins Mateo and Eva after the defeat to Chile, and rushed home to see them, posting his first picture with the pair on June 29.

    The superstar sparked controversy after captioning a photo of himself and friend Jose Semedo as ‘black and white chocolate’.

    The image of the pair topless in a swimming pool attracted over 2.7 million likes so far, Ronaldo’s comment drew criticism from some users of the picture-sharing platform.

    Ronaldo still has his future at Real Madrid to sort out too, with rumours suggesting the player was unhappy following charges brought by Spanish authorities over tax fraud cases.

  • Germany’s Emre Can, not scared of Ronaldo

    Germany’s Emre Can, not scared of Ronaldo

     

    Facing Cristiano Ronaldo in the final of the Confederations Cup would hold no fear for Germany midfielder Emre Can.

    Joachim Low’s world champions meet Mexico in Thursday’s semi-final in Sochi, with Ronaldo and Euro 2016 winners Portugal taking on Chile a day earlier in Kazan.

    The Real Madrid superstar has scored twice in three games in Russia, while being voted man of the match by supporters in each of Portugal’s group matches.

    He is prolonging a trophy hunt that yielded LaLiga and Champions League glory in 2016-17 – including five goals across both legs of the quarter-final against Bayern Munich – but Liverpool’s Can would welcome the challenge of taking on the former Manchester United favourite.

    “Nobody is scared of Ronaldo,” he said. “Obviously he is a world-class player, but nobody is afraid of him.”

    Mexico might at least be a little apprehensive over facing Julian Draxler, who has responded to taking on the captaincy of an experimental Germany squad in Russia by turning in a string of dazzling displays.

    The Paris Saint-Germain winger has been granted liberal licence to roam across the midfield and forward positions by Low and created 10 clear goalscoring opportunities during the group stages – more than any other player.

    He also weighed in by converting a penalty in the opening 3-2 win over Australia and Can has been impressed by how his fellow 23-year-old has led a side lacking experience at international level.

    “He’s been a very good leader. He’s not the loudest guy, but on the pitch I think you could see his quality in the three games,” said Can.

    “He is talking to the players, he wants to help and I think he has a lot of experience. He is doing it very well.

    “You can see he always wants the ball, always wants to create something on the pitch.

    “He wants to score always and you can see that in every game.”

    Arsenal centre-back Shkodran Mustafi is expected to return to Germany’s backline after being rested for the 3-1 victory against Cameroon last time out and is also a member of the Draxler fan club, suggesting his team-mate could soon enter the “superstar” bracket Ronaldo has made his own for so long.

    “He is a really, really good and talented player. He’s young as well and I think he’s got a really bright future ahead of him,” said Mustafi.

    “In football, you never know what’s happening. Talent only is not always enough, but I think that he has the character, he has the talent and the head to be the superstar, for sure.”

  • Tax fraud case: Ronaldo to appear in court July 31

    Tax fraud case: Ronaldo to appear in court July 31

     

    Cristiano Ronaldo will appear in court on July 31 following allegations of tax evasion from Spanish prosecutors, according to reports.

    The Spanish media have claimed the Real Madrid star must be in the courtroom in Pozuelo at 11am local time for the beginning of the case.

    Ronaldo has been accused by prosecutors of defrauding Spanish tax authorities out of €14.7million, a claim he has strenuously denied.

    The four-time Ballon d’Or winner is alleged to have created a “business structure” in 2010 to conceal his earnings from image rights between 2011 and 2014.

    The allegations have led to uncertainty about the 32-year-old’s future at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Manchester United linked as a possible destination should he opt to leave Spain.

    Madrid president Florentino Perez defended the superstar on Monday and insisted he would not be letting his prized asset leave unless a club can meet his €1billion buyout clause.

    The transfer market has been hit with a trigger following Ronaldo’s hint that he could leave Spain if he is eventually hammered in the tax case.  Former Club Manchester United have left no one in doubt they are ready to welcome back one of their own while French Ligue one side PSG among others are also waiting on the wings. Real Madrid fans are divided over the development with some expressing optimism that their goal machine is going nowhere why some have taken the wait and see position as events unfolds.

  • Mexico snatch draw with Portugal in confederations cup

    Mexico snatch draw with Portugal in confederations cup

    Mexico claimed a 2-2 draw with Portugal in their Confederations Cup opener on Sunday.

    A last-gasp equaliser by Hector Moreno saved the day for them after Cedric seemed to have won the game for the European champions with a goal five minutes from time.

    Portugal had an early effort controversially disallowed by the video referees but they eventually took the lead after 34 minutes through Ricardo Quaresma.

    This was after a mistake by Carlos Salcedo had let Cristiano Ronaldo through on goal.

    The Portugal captain could not control the ball to shoot but his brilliant pass between three defenders left Quaresma free to round goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and tap into the empty net.

    Mexico equalised eight minutes later through a Javier Hernandez diving header after poor defending by the Portuguese.

    Raphael Guerreiro miskicked a cross into the box, allowing Carlos Vela to play the ball back in for Hernandez to score.

    Portugal looked to have won when Cedric fired home a deflected shot but Moreno headed home a corner in added time to give Mexico a share of the points.

    “I think we were superior, we created more chances and we leave the field frustrated,’’ Cedric said. “We were always more dangerous than them, both in our organised play and on the counter attack.’’

    Although Mexico had more possession, Ochoa was the busier of the two goalkeepers.

    The Europeans could have taken all three points had the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) not controversially disallowed Nani’s first-half goal for offside.

    Ronaldo smacked a long-range shot onto the bar and Nani picked up the rebound to volley home.

    However, the VAR disallowed the goal for an offside infringement earlier in the move.

    The result leaves both sides tied for second place in Group A, behind hosts Russia who top the group after beating New Zealand 2-0 on Saturday in St. Petersburg.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Russia will face Portugal and Mexico take on New Zealand on Wednesday.

  • Ronaldo may leave Real Madrid after tax fraud accusation

    Ronaldo may leave Real Madrid after tax fraud accusation

    Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is not happy at being accused of tax fraud and wants to leave the club, a source close to the player said on Friday.

    Spanish prosecutors have accused the 32-year-old Ronaldo of defrauding the authorities of millions of euros in tax.

    Though he has since denied any wrongdoing, but the source who wanted anonymity said the accusation has upset the Portugal captain.

    “He feels he’s honest, has good character and did everything OK,” added the source.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ronaldo’s Real Madrid contract has a 1 billion euro (about £874.88 million, or N450 billion) release clause.

    “He’s very sad and really upset. He doesn’t want to stay in Spain. At this moment, he wants to leave,’’ the source added.

    Ronaldo, who joined Real Madrid from English side Manchester United for £80 million (about N40 billion) in 2009, signed a five-year deal with the European champions in November 2016.

    China would be one potential destination but the Portuguese forward’s advisers would prefer he stayed in Europe, most likely either moving to Paris St-Germain or returning to the Premier League.

    Ronaldo, who has helped Real win the Champions League three times and La Liga twice, is accused of evading tax to the value of 14.7m euros (£13m; $16m) between 2011 and 2014.

    Already, Real Madrid have released a statement saying they had “full confidence” in their player, and they were convinced he would prove his innocence.

    In the 2016/2017 season, Ronaldo helped Real win the Spanish title for the first time since 2012 as well as retain the UEFA Champions League.

    Ronaldo, who also won the Champions League with Manchester United in 2008, has scored a record 105 goals in the competition, 11 more than FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, his nearest challenger.

  • Ronaldo : I’ll dump Madrid if convicted on £13m tax allegation

    Ronaldo : I’ll dump Madrid if convicted on £13m tax allegation

     

    Cristiano Ronaldo has been left seething by the accusation he has ‘defrauded’ €15million (£13m) from the Spanish taxman and has told Real Madrid he could leave Spain for good if he is convicted.

    The A Bola front page on Friday says Ronaldo has declared his intentions and when he claimed his decision is ‘irreversible’, it did not take the Spanish club by surprise.

    They had already been made aware of his fury earlier in the week when Madrid’s regional state prosecutor publicly accused him of failing to pay the correct amount of tax over a four-year period from 2011 to 2014.

    Ronaldo’s rage comes not so much from the investigation into his tax affairs as the way he feels he is being treated like a criminal despite the fact he voluntarily made attempts to put his affairs in order three years ago.

    In 2014, he made an extra payment of €6m (£5m) and now feels that the prosecution’s accusation is a result of a difference of interpretation of Spain’s complicated tax laws on image rights and should not therefore result in criminal proceedings.

    A Madrid judge will decide over the next fortnight if the case goes to court and Ronaldo will have 30 days to decide if he is to plead guilty and pay a fine or fight the case and risk a stronger punishment.

    Lionel Messi was given a 21-month suspended sentence last year for having defrauded the national purse of €4.1m (£3.6m) of undeclared image-rights earnings.

    Sources close to Ronaldo say despite the millions he has earned during his career, he remains proud of his humble beginnings in Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, and fiercely defensive over the idea that now he does not pay his way or that his gains have been in any way ill-gotten.