Alexis Sanchez in £900,000 Tax Evasion Probe in Spain

Alexis Sanchez in £900,000 Tax Evasion Probe in Spain

Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez is presently facing off-field trouble amid reports the public prosecutor in Barcelona has launched an investigation into the player’s activities during his time with Spanish champions Barcelona.

Sanchez, 27, has been accused of attempting to defraud the Spanish Inland Revenue of €983,443 (£888,736) while he starred for the Blaugrana between 2011 and 2014.

According to the authorities, he failed to declare €587,677 in 2012 and €395,766 in 2013, without including details of the company in his declaration.

Daily Mirror quotes Catalan newspaper El Periodico as saying that Sanchez is being accused of “actively withholding” taxes, with relation to his image rights.

The Chile star did not include proceeds from the transfer of his image rights in both 2012 and 2013, Spanish prosecutor Miguel Angel Perez de Gregorio posits.

He is now being charged for “simulating the transfer of those rights” to an offshore company based in Malta, Numidia Trading.

The case against Sanchez is one of many to rock Barcelona in recent times, as talisman Lionel Messi currently has an appeal at the Supreme Court after he was found guilty of defrauding the authorities of €2.2m in taxes early this year.

Similarly, Brazil superstar Neymar is facing charges of image rights violation following his move from Santos in 2013.