June 5 – Atletico Madrid’s international forward Diego Costa, one of the most irascible players in top-flight football, has been sentenced to a six-month prison term, which he will not have to serve, and been fined €543,208 after being found guilty of tax fraud.
Costa defrauded the Spanish government of €1 million by failing to declare payments of €5.15 million from his 2014 transfer to Chelsea. He will now fork out the fine on top of the missing €1million in order to fully satisfy the courts.
Costa appeared covering face behind a protective mask to admit his guilt on Thursday. But the Brazilian-born forward, loved by fans of the clubs he’s played for but loathed by most others, will not spend any time behind bars. Under Spanish law, a sentence of under two years for a non-violent crime can be commuted to a fine.
“Diego Costa reached an agreement a few months ago with the prosecutor and has already paid the corresponding fine plus interest, and the request for a prison sentence was withdrawn,” an Atletico spokesman told Reuters.
Costa was instrumental in winning two Premier League titles during his time at Chelsea and rejoined Atletico in 2017, where he helped win Europa League the following year.
He is the latest in a number of Spanish-based stars convicted of tax evasion in a crackdown by the authorities.
Lionel Messi and his father were both sanctioned in July 2016 and were handed suspended 21-month prison sentences while the player was also ordered to pay a €1.7million fine. The pair were found guilty on three fronts of defrauding tax authorities of 4.1 million euros from income made from image rights.
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And Messi’s superstar rival Cristiano Ronaldo accepted an €18.8 million fine in January, 2019, after reaching a tentative deal with the state prosecutor’s office on the eve of the World Cup and avoided a two-year jail term that was suspended.