Cristiano Ronaldo faces multi-million tax fraud fine in Madrid court

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Cristiano Ronaldo is returning to Madrid for a court date on Tuesday in which he could be fined 18.8 million euros ($21.4 million; Dh78 million) for tax fraud as part of a deal reached with the Spanish taxman.

As part of an agreement arranged in June with the former Real Madrid hero’s lawyers, prosecutors are also asking that the Portuguese attacker, who last summer left the Spanish capital for Italian champions Juventus, be handed a 23-month jail sentence.

However Ronaldo would not spend a day in prison as sentences of up to two years are generally not enforced in Spain for first-time offenders in non-violent crimes.

The hearing, due to start at 9.50am (0850 GMT), is expected to last just a few minutes as the deal is officially presented to the judge.

He in turn will give the final sentence on Tuesday or the coming days, according to a spokesman for the court in northern Madrid.