Xabi Alonso, a different footballer on the field ... and in court

Last update 15 April, 2021 por Alberto Llopis

It was not necessary to see many matches of Xabi Alonso to realize that it was always a different guy, elegant and daring. It was in the field with him 14 behind his back and five years ago he decided to be so also in the courts by standing up to two colossi such as the Tax Agency and the State Lawyer.

These public institutions asked for the Guipuzcoan five years in prison and a fine of four million euros for alleged tax fraud and having concealed income through a partnership on the portuguese island of Madeira, well-known in the world of football for being the birthplace of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The news in this case and what makes it such a special episode was the courage of Xabi Alonso, as well as his tax advisers Iván Zaldúa and Ignasi Maestre, para stand up to the prosecution, go to the end and refuse to agree with the Public Treasury the payment of an amount in exchange for the withdrawal of the imputed charges. A bravery at the level of which he showed in that unforgettable final of the Champions League in Istanbul and that is part of the great matches in the history of this sport.

Different from other footballers

Contrary to other guildmates as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa, Luka Modric, Radamel Falcao or Daniel Alves, to name a few names from a dense list, the ex of the Royal Society, Liverpool FC, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich decided not to pay the stipulated fine, go through the dock and risking a sentence that could have resulted in your imprisonment.

Y es que, to understand the magnitude of the charges against him, the lawyer specialized in criminal law Arturo González, de Dexia Lawyers, explains that Xabi Alonso was tried for allegedly having committed a tax crime.

Since it is a terrain that football lovers are not entirely familiar with, he clarifies that “a tax offense is committed when it occurs, by action or omission, a fraud to the state Public Treasury, autonomic, regional or local avoiding the payment of taxes or enjoying improperly obtained benefits”. Will be discussed, well, of tax offense "when the amount defrauded exceeds 120.000 euros in each tax or declaration period, that is to say, a period of twelve months”.

Además, on the penalties collected for this criminal type, he claims that they will be “prison of 1 a 5 years and a fine that multiplies by 6 the amount cited”. In addition, it can also assume, although in this case it is difficult to think that it would, “the loss of the possibility of obtaining subsidies or public aid and the right to enjoy benefits or tax incentives or Social Security during the period of 3 a 6 años”. In any case, the different types of tax offenses are listed in the artículo 305 of the Penal Code onwards.

Acquitted twice

Bien, because after being acquitted in the first instance in the year 2019 the Supreme Court appealed this sentence and finally the past 9 April, the Provincial Court of Madrid gave the final closing to the process with a new acquittal of Xabi Alonso and his advisers.

With this favorable judgment, el current coach of Real Sociedad ‘B’ you can stay focused on promotion phase to LaLiga SmartBank that he is disputing with the San Sebastian subsidiary and that at the moment has the txuri-urdin team as the leader of his group. This great work is not going unnoticed by different European clubs and a few weeks ago middle german PICTURE He already related the name of the former Basque midfielder to the Borussia Mönchengladbach bench.