Mourinho Defends Tax History

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has defended his tax history in Spain after the country's authorities issued allegations of fraud against him.

A Madrid prosecutor said on Tuesday that the Portuguese owes £2.9m across two counts of tax fraud in 2011 and 2012, regarding image rights when he was manager of Real Madrid.

But in a statement from his representatives Gestifute, Mourinho published a certificate of compliance from the Spanish tax authorities for his period at Real, insisting he paid more than £23m in tax and not been informed of any new case against him.

"Jose Mourinho has not received any notification with regards to the news published today," the statement read.

"To this date, neither the Spanish tax authorities nor the public prosecutor have contacted Jose Mourinho or his advisers who were hired for the inspection process.

"Jose Mourinho, who lived in Spain from June 2010 until May 2013, paid more than €26m in taxes with an average rate over 41 percent, and accepted the regularisation proposals made by the Spanish tax authorities in 2015 regarding the years 2011 and 2012, and entered into a settlement agreement regarding 2013.

"The Spanish government in turn, through the tax department, issued a certificate in which it attested that he had regularised his position and was in compliance with all his tax obligations."

The allegations against Mourinho follow those made against Cristiano Ronaldo by Spanish tax authorities last week, which led to the player disclosing a wish to leave the country and perhaps work with Mourinho again at Old Trafford.

Credit: Skysports.com