‘I cannot forget or hide’ – Ronaldo opens up on his tax fraud in Spain

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issues with the Spanish tax authorities but admitted it has had no impact on his love for Madrid.

The former Real Madrid superstar pleaded guilty to tax fraud and received a two-year suspended sentence earlier this year.

Ronaldo, now at Serie A giants Juventus, also signed an agreement with Spain’s state prosecutor and tax authorities which cost him around £16million in fines.

Despite his off-field woes, Ronaldo insists it did not affect his love for the Spanish capital and he claims fans are already desperate to see him back in the white of Real.

‘The Spaniards treated me well,’ he said in an interview with ICON Magazine via Marca.

‘I wanted to give them some jobs [with my hair transplant clinic], regardless of having the [tax] problems I have had with the Treasury, because that I cannot forget or hide.

‘My life is an open book. I walk with my head held high; I know that people love me; they know that I have given a lot to the club [Real Madrid] and this club has also given me a lot.

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‘On the streets [in Madrid] they say to me: “Cris, come home, this house is always yours”. I like to hear that.’

Ronaldo failed to win a fourth consecutive Champions League title in his first season in Italy after Juve were dumped out of the competition in the quarter-finals by Ajax.

He admits that the constant expectation on him to deliver something memorable in every game can weigh heavy on his shoulders sometimes.

‘I won’t deny that sometimes I get annoyed and tired because it seems as though every year I have to prove that I’m very good’, he added.

‘It’s difficult, you have extra pressure of having to prove something to people and it’s not only for you, but your mother, your son.

‘It makes you more active.

‘You have to train, but there comes a time when you have to say “look, let me be…”.’

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