Spanish prosecutors have accused Real Madrid's Brazilian
left-back Marcelo of tax fraud totalling nearly half a million euros, a
judicial source confirmed on Tuesday.
The
tax authorities believe Marcelo hid €490 917 earned from his image rights
using a network of shell companies outside of Spain.
According
to court documents, Marcelo earned €1 168 764 from his image rights
in 2013, which were ceded to a Uruguayan company but should have been declared
to the Spanish authorities.
Marcelo
is just the latest in a series of star players based in Spain to be accused of
tax fraud on income related to image rights in the past few years.
Real
Madrid's all-time leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo appeared in court in July
over accusations he evaded €14.7 million worth of tax between 2011 and 2014.