Kathmandu, 22nd Jan: Cristiano Ronaldo pleaded guilty to tax fraud on Tuesday and received a two-year suspended sentence. The Juventus forward, who was facing charges stemming from his days at Real Madrid, was in court for about 45 minutes and signed an agreement which will cost him nearly 19 million euros ($21.6 million) in fines.


Ronaldo arrived at court in a black van and was wearing a black sports coat, black pants and white tennis shoes.

He stopped to sign an autograph before walking up some stairs leading to the court house. He was accompanied by his lawyers and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez. A couple of police officers escorted the player.

A few hundred journalists waited outside but the Portuguese player did not stop to talk. The court had dismissed Ronaldo’s request to enter the building directly from the parking lot, which would have allowed him to avoid the media.

The request was made for security reasons, but the court said it didn’t think the measure was needed despite the player’s notoriety. Court officials said Ronaldo didn’t make any comments while in the courtroom to sign the agreement.

Smiling, he again stopped to sign autographs on his way out of the court house. Ronaldo made the deal to plead guilty with Spain’s state prosecutor and tax authorities last year. In Spain, a judge can suspend sentences for two years or less for first-time offenders.