Considering Cristiano Ronaldo’s strained history with Spain’s tax authorities, one of the biggest deterrents for the footballer to return to Madrid could be tax-related.
In January 2019, the Portuguese star, who had already left Madrid for Juventus, was fined €18.8 million ($21.6 million) over unpaid tax on income he made outside his Real Madrid salary, including from image rights and sponsorship endorsements.
When Cristiano signed for Juventus in the summer of 2018, both the player and the club benefited from Italy’s generous tax incentives, which represent both an advantage for Serie A clubs and a major draw for footballers to the country.
While there will be many factors that will determine Ronaldo’s final decision on whether to leave Juventus and return to Madrid, one consideration will undoubtedly be related to earnings. And for Madrid, of course, the cost of the operation will also be a determining factor on whether or not it decides to go though with it.
A two-year contract would be significantly more burdensome for both the club and player. As Roca explains, in that case, “in 2022 the player would become a resident, Madrid would have a cost equal to double the player’s net salary, and Cristiano would have to pay €20 million euros on image rights earnings.”
As part of Italy’s favorable tax regime, players only have to pay a flat fee of €200,000 on income from abroad, such as earnings from image rights. “The Spanish league is the one with the worst tax regime, it does not receive any special treatment to attract sporting talent to our country,” argues Roca, echoing complaints that LaLiga president Javier Tebas has made on several occasions.
Source : Diario Website
