Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona has to pay additional taxes of more than 2.1 million euros. The Spanish national court dismissed an appeal by the former national football player against the penalty.
A corresponding judgement of 13 May was confirmed to the French news agency AFP on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old did not pay proper tax on the sale of his image rights in the period from 2008 to 2010. As early as 2016, Pique was sentenced in this connection to a back tax payment of almost 1.5 million and a fine of more than 600,000 euros. The appeal has now been dismissed after almost three years. But Pique can still appeal before the highest Spanish court.
Many football stars have already had problems with the Spanish judiciary. The superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were sentenced to fines for tax fraud, as were world footballer Luka Modric. Investigations against former Bayern professional Xabi Alonso are continuing.
Pique’s wife Shakira is also currently being targeted by the Spanish tax authorities. The Colombian pop singer is said to have declared a residence in the Bahamas between 2012 and 2014, although according to the public prosecutor’s office in Barcelona she regularly lived in Spain. The tax authorities are now demanding 14.5 million euros in tax arrears from the 42-year-old.
