Footballer's Italian Move To Ease Tax Issues

Robbie Lawther

11 July 2018

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo could be in for a major tax dividend when he completes his move to Juventus in Italy from Real Madrid in Spain, media reports have said. The deal is set to be completed in the next few days for around £105 million ($139 million).

According to Corriere dello Sport, a new fiscal law in Italy allows tax contributors moving to there to pay as little as €100,000 ($117,000) in taxes on earnings made outside of the country.

Ronaldo would benefit because he has a huge commercial income from around the world.

This comes weeks after this publication reported that the Portuguese footballer is discussing a €19 million ($22.3 million) settlement with the Spanish Tax Agency, which will bring legal proceedings against him over tax crimes to a close.

WealthBriefing has regularly reported on the image rights' tax avoidance crackdown in Spain surrounding a host of big names in the world of football, including Lionel Messi. This publication recently published a collection of its top stories involving football and tax.

The profusion of cases against sports, media and entertainment stars in recent years raises questions about the duty of care that wealth managers and others owe to such persons, particularly in cases where clients are young and do not qualify under many regulatory rules as 'sophisticated' investors.