‘I never realised something wasn’t right’: Carlo Ancelotti denies €1m tax fraud

• Manager accused of failing to pay tax due on image rights
• Italian claims salary arrangement seemed ‘quite normal’

The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, who is on trial for allegedly defrauding Spain’s tax office of more than €1m in undeclared earnings from image rights, has told a court he believed his financial affairs were in order and “never thought a fraud could have been committed”.

Prosecutors allege the 65-year-old former Chelsea and Everton manager used shell companies outside Spain to conceal “the real beneficiary of the income from the exploitation of his image rights” in 2014 and 2015. They are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months and a fine of €3.2m.