Spanish court hits Falcao with 9-million euro tax bill

Madrid (AFP) – A Spanish court handed Monaco’s Colombian striker Radamel Falcao a nine million euros ($10.5m) tax fine and a suspended prison sentence on Wednesday, a judicial source told AFP.

Many of football’s greatest stars including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been in similar trouble with the Spanish tax authorities.

Falcao, a former Atletico Madrid player, had already payed 8.2 million euros to the court last July when he was charged with owing 7.4 million plus fines.

The 16-month sentence was commuted to a 96,000-euro fine.

The player was found guilty of setting up companies in Ireland and the British Virgin islands to help hide his earnings from image rights after two years at Atletico Madrid between 2011-2013.