5 players you didn't know were accused of tax fraud

Footballers, in today's generation, earn unbelievable amounts of money every week. They rake in even more through image rights, sponsorship deals and more.

You all must be aware of Ronaldo and Messi's tax fraud cases. The Real Madrid superstar appeared in court just a couple of days back.

Ronaldo has been accused of concealing his income from the sale of his image rights. It is believed that the Real Madrid forward has evaded €14.7m in taxes between 2011-2014.

Meanwhile, Messi has also been accused of tax fraud of €4.1m. During his trial, Messi revealed that he signed what his father said. His father said that he acted in good faith and was unaware about any wrongdoings.

The player was charged €2m in fine and was also sentenced to 21 months prison time. However in Spain, for a first time offender, a prison time of fewer than 24 months is served on a probation basis.

Here's a list of five players who were involved in a tax fraud case but you probably didn't know.

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#5 Angel Di Maria

Currently playing for Paris Saint-German, Angel Di Maria was accused of tax fraud while he was playing for Real Madrid in 2013-14. The 29-year old has accepted to pay €2m to settle the tax case.

He was accused of two charges relating to his image rights. Apparently, the former Real Madrid player gave up his image rights to companies based in tax havens like Panama.

The two charges that he has been accused of carries an eight-month prison time each. However, in Spain, a first-time offender does not have to serve jail time if the sentence is less than 2 years.

So in the end, the PSG player ended up paying the fine and the case was closed.

#4 Samuel Eto'o

Eto'o could face up to 10.6 years prison time if proved guilty

The former Barcelona player could face more than 10 years of prison time for alleged tax crimes which he committed while in Spain.

Spanish court documents have revealed that an investigation is going on for four counts of tax fraud which accounts for nearly $4m between 2006-2009.

In addition to the jail time, the prosecutors are also demanding that the player should pay a fine of $15.1m for the four tax evasion cases. They are also demanding that Eto's agent, during that time, Josep Maria Mesalles, receive the same punishment.

Eto’o is charged with getting around tax through a complicated and illegal image rights structure. The player ran two companies in the name of Bulte 2002 in Spain and Tradesport in Hungry, and the two this allowed him to transfer his rights without having to pay taxes.

The player failed to declare his sponsorship revenue, while he also received around £2m a year from Puma. The final outcome of this case is still not known.

#3 Radamel Falcao

Radamel Falco has been accused of evading €5.66m in 2012 and 2013

Radamel Falcao has been accused by the Spanish prosecutor that the current Monaco player did not pay €5.66m while he was in Spain.

It is claimed that the ex-Atletico player set up a company named Business Tiger and another called Fardey Overseas. The main aim of these companies was to hide the image rights income from the Spanish law.

The striker did not pay any tax which he earned from the image rights in 2012 and 2013 while he was playing for Atletico Madrid.

Jorge Mendes, Falcao's agent, appeared in court to testify that he had no role whatsoever in Falcao's doing.

Mendes has not been accused of any wrongdoings, but he still wanted to make things clear. This is because some investigators believe that Mendes' agents have been using a web of companies in different places to route image rights income.

#2 Javier Mascherano

Another Barcelona player to be accused of tax fraud is Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano was accused of not paying nearly $1.6m in taxes in 2011 and 2012. The player admitted his guilt in court.

The Argentina international was accused of not declaring his earnings on his image rights in 2011 and 2012, through companies set up in the United States and Portugal.

The Spanish tax law allows a player to sell up to 15% of his image rights to a company. However, the tax authorities claimed that the player did not pay the taxes on the income which he earned through image rights.

Mascherano was given a one-year prison time and was also fined $850,000. The player was also prevented from receiving any tax benefits for one year.

However, according to Spanish laws, the player did not face any jail time because the sentence was less than 24 months and Mascherano was a first-time offender.

#1 Alexis Sanchez

Sanchez confessed that he evaded tax while at Barcelona

Current Arsenal player, Alexis Sanchez has confessed to tax fraud of nearly €1m back in 2012 and 2013 while he was playing for Barcelona.

The former Barcelona player concealed a part of his income by image rights by using companies in Malta (Numidia) and Chile. He pleaded guilty and hoped that he would not have to go to trial as he has already paid back the amount.

It was believed that Sanchez transferred funds from his image rights to Numidia - of which he owns 99%.

Sanchez appeared at a court via video link from London in Barcelona and confessed to two counts of tax fraud.

As a result of paying back the amount, the player is most likely not going to face any trial as an agreement has been reached between both the parties. However, the player will have to pay some compensation for delaying the tax payment, which is yet to be agreed on.

The final outcome is yet to be decided.