International Football
RONALDO EXPECTED IN MADRID TUESDAY FOR TAX FRAUD TRIAL
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo is expected back in Madrid on Tuesday to attend a trial for tax evasion where Spanish prosecutors are asking for a 23-month prison sentence and fine.
According to reports from Reuters, Ronaldo’s former Madrid teammate Xabi Alonso is also due in court next Tuesday for another case of tax fraud.
Portuguese striker Ronaldo, who left Real Madrid for Juventus last July, is expected to plead guilty after he agreed a settlement worth 18.8 million euros (£16.5 million) with Spanish tax authorities last summer.
However, he is unlikely to serve any time in prison as Spanish law states a sentence of under two years for a first offence can be served on probation.
The prosecutor’s office said it was seeking a fine of 5.7 million euros, which it said Ronaldo had already paid, as well as interest of about one million euros.
That fine, expected to be confirmed on Tuesday in a Madrid court, is part of the total agreed in the earlier settlement, judicial sources said.
Ronaldo, 33, who has helped take Juventus to the top of Italian football’s Serie A, will have to travel to Madrid immediately after playing against Chievo on Monday.
The trial was initially expected to take place on Monday but the prosecutor’s office said the date was now set for Tuesday.
It is expected to be concluded on the same day and be short, with officials saying the hearing will only require Ronaldo to confirm he accepts the deal.
Ronaldo is involved in a second legal case where police in the United States asked Italian authorities to obtain a DNA sample from him as part of their investigation into accusations he raped a woman a decade ago in Las Vegas.
Ronaldo says he is innocent and that the sexual encounter in question was consensual.
In the case of Xabi Alonso, prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison sentence and four million euro fine. A World Cup winner with Spain who retired from football in 2017, Alonso is accused of defrauding the Spanish state of two million euros between 2010 and 2012.
Alonso, whose adviser Ivan Zaldua Acuenaga and administrator Ignasi Maestre Casanova face the same sentence, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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