Xabi Alonso acquitted of tax fraud by Madrid court

Xabi Alonso, along with his advisors Ivan Zaldua and Ignasi Maestre, have been found not guilty of tax fraud, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

The Prosecutor's Office had earlier called for a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Xabi Alonso.

Former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso has been acquitted of tax fraud by a court in Madrid.

Alonso was accused of defrauding the Spanish tax office of almost €2 million between 2010 and 2012, when he was at Real Madrid.

The Prosecutor's Office had called for a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, but at a ruling on Tuesday, Alonso – who had always denied any wrongdoing – was found not guilty. Two advisors to Alonso, Ivan Zaldua and Ignasi Maestre, were also acquitted.

Several high-profile names have been the subject of separate tax cases in Spain. 

In June 2018, former Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo – now with Juventus – accepted a suspended two-year jail term and total fine of €18.8million to end a dispute with authorities in relation to the taxation of image rights.

A year earlier, Spain's public prosecutor agreed to substitute a suspended 21-month prison sentence with a fine for Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Alonso joined Liverpool in 2004 and spent five years with the Reds, winning a Champions League and FA Cup during his time on Merseyside.

He won another Champions League with Madrid, as well as a La Liga title and two Copas del Rey before seeing out his career at Bayern where he collected three Bundesliga trophies and a DFB-Pokal medal.