Former Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o has pleaded guilty to a £3.2m tax fraud relating to his image rights while playing for Barcelona.
The four-time African footballer of the year was given a 22-month suspended prison sentence when he appeared at court in Spain on Monday.
He must repay the money he owes, along with a fine of £1.55m.
Prosecutors accused Eto’o of failing to declare income from the transfer of image rights between 2006 and 2009.
Eto’o is the latest in a long list of foreign players and managers to have been prosecuted for tax fraud in Spain in recent years, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Jose Mourinho and Neymar.
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| Samuel Eto’o: Former Cameroon and Barcelona Forward Pleads Guilty To £3.2m Tax Fraud! |
He appeared at the Ciudad de la Justicia court in Barcelona with his former agent Jose Maria Mesalles, who was given a 12 month suspended sentence and a fine.
The court heard that Eto’o transferred his image rights to a company based in Hungary which declared his earnings in that country, where the tax rate is one of the “lowest in Europe”.
“I admit the facts and I am going to pay what I’m due, but let it be known that I was a just a child then and that I always did what my former agent Jose Maria Mesalles, who I considered like a father, asked me to do at that time,” Eto’o told the court. – bbc.com
